Philippine Society and Culture

It’s been said that one’s character will be put to test when he is faced with difficulties in life. This universal notion holds true, particularly to those who have been experiencing challenges and hardships in life. Undeniably, the lives of the Filipinos have been on a roller coaster, and it has always been like this. Challenges of any form keep besetting us which again have put our resilience and positivity to test.  As has been said, misfortunes are inevitable while we are still alive. They are our twins the moment we were born. Some of these challenges and misfortunes are results of human manipulation by opportunists while some of these are nature in itself and beyond our control.  Facing these hard circumstances in life, how do the Filipinos respond and deal with these challenges? What are the coping mechanisms employed by the Filipinos to weather these challenges?  In this post, we will discuss how the Filipinos are dealing with these prevailing challenges they ar...

SM City Cebu  Time flies too fast indeed and it’s Christmas time once again, particularly in the Philippines. But what is really the essence of the Christmas Celebrations to us Catholics?   We’ve been celebrating Christmas from time immemorial and still there are these questions that still linger in our mind: Why do we celebrate Christmas? What embodies the Christmas celebrations?  Is it just a social - religious celebration in honor of the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ? And now that the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, how do Filipinos celebrate Christmas? Or do this year’s or future Christmas celebrations be the same as they were before the global health crisis?  In this post, we will try to find out how people, the Filipino Catholics in particular, celebrate Christmas after being confined to our homes due to COVID-19 restrictions?  In this post, we will try to find out how people, the Filipino Catholics in particular, celebrate Christmas now tha...

Malacanan sa Sugbu Former President Rodrigo R. Duterte may no longer be in public service. His tenure as president of the country officially finished at noon on the 30th of June 2022 after serving the Filipinos for a single term of six years, but his brand of campaigning, his language used in public speeches, and his mannerisms manifested in public is really - worth studying and understanding particularly among the younger generation of Filipinos.  In this post, we'll try to analyze the controversial language that former President Rodrigo R. Duterte used in his public speeches and why he is still popular among the Filipinos more than a year after he stepped down from office in 2022.  Like the previous administrations, the administration of former president Rodrigo R. Duterte also had its share of issues and controversies ranging from his friendly relationship with neighboring China, corruption in his administration, and his administration's controversial bloody drug war whi...

Filipino youth Undeniably, the Filipinos have a rich, diverse culture. Having been a colony to the three powerful countries, the Philippines assimilated its local and foreign cultures brought and introduced by these foreign invaders.    Though the Filipinos already have local cultures long before the colonizers set foot on the country's soil. It is the assimilation of the foreign and local cultures that makes the country's culture diverse and rich.   Unfortunately, for still undetermined reasons, some of these Filipinos' long - embraced cultures have slowly been fading and some of them are no longer observed and practiced by many Filipinos.  But can the Filipinos still revive and preserve their fading cultures? If so, how and in what ways? In this blog post, we'll try to determine the possible factors behind the fading of these cultures and the effective ways to revive them.  Below are just some of the Filipino cultures which are feared of permanently losing t...

Mabolo Parish Church In the Philippines the month of May is one of the merriest and festive months because of the big celebrations. Big events such as daily feasts (fiestas) that are really worth celebrating.  Besides, during this month, there are other religious celebrations of utmost importance to the Filipinos such as  the Flores de Mayo, the Santacruzan,  the Labor Day, and of course  the Mothers' Day which is celebrated on the second Sunday of the month.  Mabolo Parish Church But where did these events originate and how significant are these events to the Filipinos? In this blog post, we will trace the origin of these events and their significance to the Filipinos.  It can't be denied that among the colonizers, the Spaniards were the ones who made significant impact on the lives of the Filipinos.  The Filipinos have a lot of religious events of Spanish origin and one of them is the Flores de Mayo, a month -long celebration which starts on t...

Dr. Jose Rizal  Today, is the country's 81st commemoration of the " Araw ng Kagitingan" also known as " Day of Valor" On April 9, 1942, holed up in their fortress amidst fierce resistance, thousands of American and Filipino soldiers and civilians surrendered to the numerically superior Japanese soldiers. This historic war event in the country, popularly known as the "Fall of Bataan" is celebrated every 9th of April. To instill value and significance of this historical event among Filipinos, the celebration is declared a national holiday. Center of defense  Bataan was the center of defense in the war against the Japanese soldiers as the place is the transit point of the invaders' logistical supply.  To keep their logistical transit unhampered, the Japanese had to defeat and secure Bataan from the Filipinos who were just office workers, farmers, and students against battle -hardened foreign invaders.   Death March  From the day of the surrender began...

St. Joseph Parish Church It's already been over a hundred years had passed since the liberation of the Filipinos from the rule of foreign invaders, yet the latter's influence still evident in the daily life of the Filipinos today.    In this special post, we will find out what are the influences of the colonizers that are still observed and practiced by the Filipinos today and how do young generation of Filipino Catholics view these religious influences brought and introduced to the Filipinos by the Spaniards.   Palm Sunday Palm Sunday or Passion Sunday is a Holy Week religious activity where Catholic parishioners and faithful will go to the church to hear mass, bringing with them Palm fronds. These Palm fronds are then blessed by priests with Holy water. At home, these crucifix-shaped Palm leaves will be placed on doorsteps or any conspicuous areas of the house. According to Catholic beliefs these Palm fronds are believed to drive away bad spirits. These Crucifixes ...