The Christmas season in the Philippines is really long. From September, you'll start to hear Christmas songs anywhere. The malls have already started selling Christmas decorations and some people are excitedly starting their Christmas shopping.
As for my family's case, we usually start decorating our house for Christmas around second week of November. That's after the Halloween, All Saints Day and All Souls Day (October 31 - November 2).
Christmas is really a big celebration in my country. Aside from the religious reasons, it's also a time for families to have reunions. Family members who work in other places in the country or even abroad tend to go home in order to celebrate the Yuletide season. Kids and kids at heart are enthusiastic about the gifts they're going to receive. There's also the fun caroling and other lively activities people enjoy doing.
Anyway, papa and I decided to put up our Christmas tree and other Christmas decorations today.
We placed the Christmas tree in the receiving area of the house. This Christmas tree has been with us for more than 5 years now, I think. Yes, we just keep our previous Christmas decors and re-use them the next year.
These are the Christmas decors we've used for the past couple of years. We usually just mix and match different colors. We used other colors a long time ago and those decors didn't go to waste. They're still in good condition, so we gave them to some of our neighbors. They were so happy to have some Christmas decors at their house, too... even if it was like a hand-me-down kind of stuff.
We had to wear mask when doing so because they were quite dusty. Papa didn't really allow me to help this time because of my asthma, so he basically decorated and prepared everything himself. Mama and I just pinched in our ideas. He actually enjoys doing stuff like this, so mama and I are lucky. haha
A couple Christmas ago, We decorated our tree similarly to the first picture above. We only used gold, pink and rose gold balls plus other design in the same color. We don't have the other designs anymore, so we added the red ones. I believe we used red and blue ones last year.
That's how it looks both day and night. Aside from the Christmas tree, we also usually decorate our windows in the living room. It was quite hot in the afternoon, so papa told us to just get inside the house and he's going to take care of everything. And when we went out later in the afternoon, he finished decorating!
It's so pretty and symmetrical. haha As expected of papa. These are all old decors, too. Same goes for the lights. Unfortunately though, there are some lights which wont light up anymore. I think this is going to be the last time we could use them. We will have to buy additional lights next Christmas. Nevertheless, they're still very pretty especially at night. Here's how they look. :)
Two of my aunts together with my cousins are planning to spend Christmas with us again this year (we missed last year because of the pandemic). I'm truly excited to spend time with them. Although we don't have much money to spend, it's always so enjoyable to celebrate Christmas together.
Each family usually prepares some food and shares it together with everyone. Then my cousins and I would watch some horror or thriller movies. haha Yes, we love watching horror or thriller films at Christmas. We've been doing that for the past 3 or 4 Christmas days. lol I don't think it's common, though. haha
Seeing and feeling the Christmas spirit through these decorations is bringing in positive vibes. Despite the daily challenges, there's always a reason to smile. Let's celebrate life! <3
It is nice to see that the USA isn't the only country that gets started on Christmas really early. I'm not judging anyone, but starting to play Christmas music in September should be a crime :P
Here in Vietnam there are some places that are playing Christmas music already and the other day I was in a bar / restaurant where they were playing Christmas songs and some of the people asked if they could change it to something else. haha. I don't meant to be a scrooge but I kind of agreed with them.
Your decorations looks nice and I hope you have a great holiday!
Hahaha... It starts in September and ends in January. lol It's a really loooooong celebration. xDD
I can imagine. :) There sure are a lot of nice Christmas songs, but you wouldn't really like to listen to it a lot. Maybe on Christmas day itself. :)
Thank you!!! Same goes for you! :D
Christmas really is approaching fast! Love your preparations; my family also have been starting to put up Christmas lights to make us feel the Christmas vibes amidst this covid pandemic.
Indeed! That's good to know. I think feeling the Christmas spirit is making us more positive, isn't it? :) Enjoy the Christmas season with your fam! <3
Yes, it definitely is. Enjoy Christmas with your family too!!
Ta-da!!! Thanks papa for putting up the tree and making all the decorations come together. I honestly think the Philippines embraces Christmas more than the USA, and it's well-known that folks from the Philippines are much more musically inclined too. Is there a tradition of caroling in the Philippines like in the USA? Nothing wrong with watching horror films this time of the year, the greatest thing is knowing family and friends have a bit of free time to spend with each other during this time of the year.
Yaaaay~! Thanks! :)
And yes, caroling is very popular. There are competitions for it. Aside from that, some carolers go house to house in exchange for some money. haha They weren't allowed to do so because of the pandemic, but I've heard caroling is now allowed. The kids in our neighborhood usually go caroling in our house every night from Dec 1 until Christmas. haha We had to prepare a lot of coins... xDD
⋆ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʟᴀᴄᴇ ғᴏʀ sᴏᴜᴛʜᴇᴀsᴛ ᴀsɪᴀɴ ᴄᴏɴᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴏɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ
⋆ sᴜʙsᴄʀɪʙᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ
⋆ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴇ ᴀsᴇᴀɴ ʜɪᴠᴇ ᴄᴏᴍᴍᴜɴɪᴛʏ ᴠᴏᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʀᴀɪʟ
⋆ ᴅᴇʟᴇɢᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋs 25 ʜᴘ⇾50 ʜᴘ⇾100 ʜᴘ⇾500 ʜᴘ⇾1,000 ʜᴘ
Salamat po! (Thank you!)
Looks like Philippine people enjoy Christmas before day. In my country some people do it too but not much. Have a great weekend.
That's true.. do you have a festival similar or as big as Christmas in your country? :)
Yes, we have Khmer New Year.
Do you also celebrate it on January 1st? :)
Yay! Nakakamiss sis to spend time together with family on Christmas days. I am so happy and excited for the upcoming Christmas because we can go home to the province unlike last year.
You are blessed sis to have a father so kind and loving. 🥰
I haven't tried watching horror movies during Christmas sis. Hehe
We usuall have some drinks and chitchats. 🥰
Super true... iba talaga if we spend time together with loved ones on Christmas... I don't really drink, so I spend more time with younger cousins and do some activities like movies or games... haha :)