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What’s with Philippine/Filipino Culture and Traits?

A Kaleidoscope Nation

The Philippine Culture and Filipino people, to begin with, really are a assortment of different backgrounds, races, and ethnicities. Everything begun using the migration of Malay and Austronesian people throughout the early centuries to the colonization of Spain, the Americans, and then the Japanese. Increase the continuous migration of Chinese, Indian along with other nationalities, the Philippines is without a doubt a diverse nation. With this diversity come the different cultures and traditions, which, after hundreds of years of mixing and matching, define the unique culture and tradition that makes the Filipino race.

The Fiesta

The very first thing foreigners notice concerning the Philippine Culture is our fondness on festivities, locally referred to as fiesta or “pista”. The Filipino fiesta list usually -and unusually- starts with Christmas. Christmas carols can already be been told by radios, as soon as September, decorations pop up by October, then after a brief break for that Halloween (Pinoy fashion) on November, the actual Pinoy Christmas enters with style for 9 days (or nights, or dawn, or whatever) on December with the Simbang Gabi, that ends with the Christmas eve dinner “Noche Buena”. But wait, there’s more, the Christmas season does not end until the January from the next year, coinciding using the New Year’s celebrations, and lastly, the Feast of the Three Kings.

Throughout the midsummer, there’s the Holy Week or Semana Santa, a Christian holiday that begins with the Palm Sunday, followed by Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday and lastly culminating with Easter Sunday.The Holy Week celebration is usually marked with a whole week of faculty and work off, for this reason why it is the best time for Filipinos to return to their provinces and spend more time with their relatives, as part of Philippine culture and tradition.

Then, by May comes the Flores de Mayo or even the Santacruzan. The Flores de Mayo is really a Catholic festival, honouring the Virgin Mary. This feast culminates with the Santacruzan or Sagala, a parade that presents how Queen Helena and Constantine found Jesus’s true cross from Jerusalem. For that Philippine culture, the Sagala is held with your regard that it is ensured that it only shows each Barangay’s most beautiful ladies.

Besides the usual festivities, different regions all throughout the Philippines host various local fiestas that reflect its very own history, religion, nature, people and wildlife. There is the Ati-atihan of Aklan, the Pahiyas Festival of Quezon, the Pintados Festival of Leyte, Kadayawan Festival of Davao and Dinagyang Festival of Ilo-Ilo.

This year of festivities culminates using the All Saints Day and All Souls Day of November. It is a time where Filipino families pay tribute for their departed relative and friends by visiting cemeteries and saying prayers for that dead. It is one of the well-known traditions including within the Philippine Culture.

Religions

Being a nation of various ethnicities, it also follows that the Philippines is really a nation of numerous religious beliefs. Different religious beliefs were contained in Philippine Culture too. The Anito-worshippers from the early pre-Spanish era are now replaced Catholic devotees. Add to that the Islam of the south, and the different Protestant religions brought by American occupation, coupled with Buddhism in the Chinese. The Filipinos are into religion to the stage that we have our very own branch of the Christian faith, The Philippine Independent Church or the Aglipayan Church.

Food

Filipino cuisine includes foods and dishes with Hispanic, Chinese and American origin adapted to indigenous ingredients.Probably the most popular Filipino dish is the lechon, whole roasted pig cooked over charcoal. Another popular and Filipino dishes include:

� Longganisa, Filipino version of a sausage

� Tapa, beef in thin slices, cured on salt and spices

� Torta, omelette with various ingredients

� Adobo, chicken and/or pork braised in garlic, vinegar, oil and soy sauce

� Kaldereta, meat in tomato sauce stew

� Mechado, larded beef in soy sauce and tomato sauce

� Pochero, beef in bananas and tomato sauce

� Afritada, chicken and/or simmered inside a tomato sauce with vegetables

� Kare-kare, oxtail and vegetables cooked in peanut sauce

� Crispy-pata, deep-fried pig’s leg

� Hamonado, pork sweetened in pineapple sauce

� Sinigang, meat or seafood in sour brooth

� Tinola, chicken in tamarind broth

� Pansit, Filipino-style fried noodles

Gambling

Another part of Philippine culture is gambling. From the “Sabungan” of rural barrios towards the casinos of the urban cities, gambling is a pervasive social activity. The “sabong”, however, is easily the most ubiquitous of those gambling activities, making the Philippine the planet centre for cockfighting. Filipinos have legal and illegal “sabong”. The latter, usually done in secluded areas away from police raids. Sabungeros use 2 kinds of knives or gaffs, which is attached on the left leg from the cock. Bets are collected through the Kristo, and the Sentesyador may be the one who deliberates the winning cock.

Sports

Philippine sport scene usually consists of basketball, boxing, billiards, football and volleyball. Filipinos athletes are rather competent in these fields, garnering multitudes of awards on nearly every competition they enter. Some of the successful Filipino athletes are:

� Lydia de Vega (sprinting)

� Elma Muros (track and field)

� Eugene Torre (chess)

� MikeeCojuangco (equestrian)

� Philippine Dragon Boat team

� Onyok Velasco (Boxing)

� Efren “Bata” Reyes (Billiards)

� Manny Pacquiao (Boxing)

Music

Music is also a part of Philippine Culture. Music in the Philippines is composed of different genres and styles, with influences from across the world.In the get-go, Filipino folk music has already been a mix of indigenous and European/Asian music, usually adapted to various dialect among regions. Some of popular Filipino folk songs are:

� Bahay Kubo

� Sitsiritsit

� Alibangbang

� Leron Leron Sinta

� Paruparong Bukid

� Magtanim ay Di Biro

The Harana, a courtship song, and Kundiman, a song that typically has romantic themes, will also be popular in the Philippine culture dating back the Spanish period. Some of it is adapted to modern style.

Popular music in the Philippines is generally branded as OPM or Original Philippine Music. In the 70′s, the OPM scene was mostly dominated by the jukebox idols like Claire dela Fuente, Rico Puno, Ryan Cayabyab, Freddie Aguilar, Hajji Alejandro and Rey Valera.

By the 1980s and 1990s, OPM was led by artists for example Regine Velasquez, Sharon Cuneta, APO Hiking Society, Jos� Mari Chan, Dingdong Avanzado, Rodel Naval, Janno Gibbs, Ogie Alcasid, Joey Albert, Lilet, Martin Nievera, Manilyn Reynes, Pops Fernandez, Lea Salonga, Vina Morales, Raymond Lauchengco, Francis Magalona, and Gary Valenciano.

Art

Pottery is probably the most popular craft early Filipinos have mastered. Evidence present in Sanga-sanga Cave, Sulu and Laurente Cave, Cagayan proves that pottery was already widespread as early as 6000 BC.The products of this craft were well-liked by the neighbouring lands, with Filipinos enjoying trade relations with Japan and China.

Art can also be seen on traditional tattoo of early Filipinos as part of the Philippine Culture before, from which the term pinatados came into effect. Various designs referencing plants and creatures with heavenly bodies decorate their skin in a variety of coloured pigmentation.

Using the arrival of the Westerners came a new light on Filipino art. Filipinos began creating paintings that mostly cope with religion and politics. Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo are the type of who enjoyed fame and prestige in the Philippines and abroad.

In Mindanao, there are tribes who’re famous for their intricate weaving production. Some tribe, such as B’laan, Mandaya, Mansaka and T’boli are skilled in dyeing abaca fibre. Others, such as the Ilongot make jewellery from pearl, red hornbill beak, plants and metals.

The Filipino Character

Filipinos are sensitive with regards to social interaction. Filipinos have the term “pakikisama” meaning adjusting to the people you receive involved with, and it’s the centre of all Filipino values. Filipinos also be aware of need for paying one’s debt, especially when the Filipino trait “utang na loob” comes in play. Filipinos are also noted for being hospitable. They treat visitors with utmost care and diligence.

Filipinos are family-oriented. Most Filipino homes really are a tightly knit abode for extended family members such as the Lolas, or Titas. Filipinos strongly believe that blood is thicker than water.Filipinos are pleased people. Despite problems arising from poverty and the like, Filipinos never neglect to flash a smile or flaunt laughter at jokes as well as misfortunes.Filipinos depend on their faith amongst others, thus the old saying “bahala na”, which attaches ones action to fate and God.

Filipinos know a good deal about respect. From childhood, Filipinos are taught to mano using their parents and older relatives. A typical Filipino child’s sentence usually ends with po and opo, and they are taught to address elders with kuya or ate.

The Filipino Ethnicity

Philippine’s geography helped shape the Philippine culture. Filipinos are mainly split into various regional and ethnical groups. A few of these groups would be the Ilocano, Cebuano, Pangasinense, Kapampangan, Tagalog, Bicolano and Waray. Mindanao was, for the longest time, home for that Filipino Muslims, whom was called Moros during the Spanish regime.

Then, there is the Aeta or Negritoes: famously known as the first individuals to settle in to the islands. They mostly live in isolated mountains or forest, which leaves them free to live away from Western and Islamic influences.

Apart from these regional groups, there’s also for the most part 100 highland, lowland and coastland tribal groups within the Philippines. To name a few:

� Badjao

� Igorot

� Ilongots

� Lumad

� Mangyan

� Batak

� Tagbanwa

� Tumandok.