Christmas in the Philippines
a video report by Heidi M. Pascual

     Christmas is the most awaited and happiest celebration in the Philippines. Filipinos "await the coming of
the Messiah" and the birthday of Jesus Christ with so much preparation, including nine-day dawn masses
from December 16 in all Catholic Churches throughout the nation. Homes and yards are decorated with
Christmas trees and Christmas lights. People wrap gifts, shop for new clothes and shoes, and stuff their
freezers and refrigerators with lots of food!
     I was in the Philippines last December 2008, and I saw many celebrations, Christmas parties, parades,
Christmas shows, and lots of family gatherings.  I was in poor homes as well as in some wealthy homes and
homes in-between, yet the spirit of Christmas was the same. There was love everywhere ... something that
some places in the world seem to have lost.