One of the main aspects where most Filipino families still have in common is that the families are closely-knit, where strong ties are maintained even after the children have married. Therefore, it is not so surprising to find extended families among Filipino homes. Filipinos regard the family as the center of their lives, primary support and source of strength. To put it in simple words..
To the Filipino, happiness is being with the family.
Our group thought of a common element present in the youth in most Filipino families. and these are computer games. We can observe that computer shops are sprouting in development because we the Filipino youth are experiencing a technological breakthrough. I bet your street or village has at least 1 computershop. Computers games specifically are readily available, and as we can see young Filipinos are now exposed and literate in these are of gaming. The video above shows the dedication of pinoy gamers : Philippines VS Japan : PINOYS WON.
Online Communities We are sure that most of the Filipinos now are indeed literate when it comes to online communities, examples of these are friendster and multiply.These social media as we call them serves as communicating though loved ones both local and abroad.Indeed, it is a vital part of today's society and culture, online.
Cellular Phones These handy gadgets have indeed penetrated Philippines with GREAT impact! through which most of the population in the nation have cellphones.
It became a necessity, as for example, a text would be very efficient and less costly instead of written letters which takes a days to arrive, and with no assurance of delivery, while in a sinlge call or text a Filipino now can communicate locally or abroad with no sweat. Added info: Philippines is the #1 texting counrty in Asia.
SPORT: Basketball We have absorbed the sport of the west which is basketball. It may seem an un-filipino sport but, see the facts. This sport is very famous in the Philippines.
It plays a huge role in the our sports culture. Not only that numerous filipinos support the game but they also play it. whether it would be on the streets just like in the picutre on the left, or a famliy hangout sport. Or in interschool competitions such as NCAA and UAAP where teams such as DLSU, ATENEO, UST, FEU play as basketball teams and are supported by thousands of fans. Though which we just experienced this year the thrill of the games battle for the title of champions.
OBJECT: Camera Since the year 2008 had an abrupt progress in technology, cameras are one of the gadgets Pinoys are fond of using.
We wanted to capture almost every moment in our day, that's why you may have encountered the words "picture picture" or "vain mode" (where one pictures himself or herself numerous times) these are just a few of what cameras of 2008 has brought us.
Piece of WRITING: An article:The longest Christmas by Nita Umali Berselsen Of the many Philippine festivals, Christmas takes longest to celebrate and works most sweetly on the Filipino heart, soul and senses.
The celebration, rooted in Christianity brought by the Spaniards, is a mix of religious ceremony, native habits and foreign customs.
The Filipino glorifies the blessed event before and beyond December 25 and, at the same time - with folk ritual and joyous pageantry - celebrates himself, the Christian whose veneration harks back to the worship of anitos, the spirits that early Filipinos paid obeisance to.
The story is told that in the 17th century a priest combined Catholic rites with the native thanksgiving offered to the harvest gods. Farmers welcomed the new ritual which satisfied their chaplain, the old gods and their own love of feasting. Daily Masses held before dawn from December 16 to 24 were followed by a hearty breakfast. after which farmers went to their fields. Truly, a pleasant path to piety. The' practice quickly spread all over the land. The Misa de Gallo.
Like the farmers of old, today's churchgoers are up in the chill dark before dawn, to hear Mass followed by native breakfast. As dawn lightens the sky, revelers swarm around the makeshift bamboo stalls standing near the church, their appetites whetted by fragrant wafts of smoke from rice cakes baking before their eyes. Fresh from prayers, they joke and laugh at the bibingka vendor's naughty song about her cake swathed in banana leaves. "Ang bibingka ko kung lutuin, kaiba sa lahat. may apoy sa ilalim, may apov sa itaas." Literally. "My cake cooks like no other, with fire under, with fire over." Merrily and patiently. the crowd waits three-deep, also for the longer cooking puto-bumbong. a lavender rice steamed in thin bamboo tubes.
This idyll from the past is still relived in old hometowns and some city parishes, and is the most cherished of practices preceding December 25. But if nostalgia limns the ,Misa de Gallo, the other sights and sounds starting early December are as memorable, even overwhelming.
The landscape changes little with the Christmas season. except for the riotous bloom of poinsettias. Leaves stay green, earth, brown and gold. City and country exhibit all the garments and jewels of Christmas heaped one upon the other, in ordered disarray. yet always delightful, like a child decked in all her mother's ornaments.
White-painted branches and artificial greens become Christmas trees, in lieu of fresh pine. the cutting of which is now banned. Shops overflow with cards, wreaths, candy canes. Santa Claus and snow-spray deck the otherwise tropical scene.
Christmas lanterns, recalling the Mexican model, are suspended outside homes, shops and markets. Bamboo sticks and tissue are formed into stars, hexagons, spheres, cubes. Long ago the tasseled star found its homing place in the open windows of rural nipa huts. Together they made a portrait as uniquely native to the Philippines as the Misa de Gallo.
The lanterns' glimmer and the brilliant explosion of a million white and colored lights gem the nights. Outdoors. the strung bulbs and fluorescents outline various symbols of Christmas. Outside Manila, a parade of giant lanterns compete like beauty queens, each a carnival unto itself, with its own carriage, music, illumination and escorts.
The religious spirit of Christmas is continually visible in the helen, the Nativity scene mounted indoors and outdoors. Figures of the Holy Family, shepherds and kin&s are molded from European originals or carved by local artisans.
Heeding that call - which in Easter bids man to look into his soul, and now at Christmas into his heart - room is made for love of one's neighbor. Gifts are bought by the dozen, cards sent by the hundred. Feuds end, quarrels are patched, ceasefires declared.
With midnight of the 24th hours away, carols first aired preciously in September, now swell to a crescendo of Jingle Bells and Holy Night alternating with Ang Pasko ay Sumapit (Christmas is Come). Sidewalks are spilling with tinsel and toys, hawkers and a population in search of last-minute gifts or respite from less-happy days.
A frenzy of spirit and senses move souls to make ready for the birth of the Savior and bodies to prepare for next day's crowded feasting.
In the last moments before Christmas Eve, a folksy provincial town reenacts the Panuluyan (Joseph and Mary's search for a room as her time draws near). Their pleas are rejected in verse tinged with pathos or humor, denials ranging from illness to Grandfather's loud snores. The couple end up in a barn.
The Mass of Christmas Eve, also called Misa de Aguinaldo (Gift Mass), starts before midnight. hours earlier than Misa de Gallo.
At exactly midnight: church bells ring loud. long and clear. announcing the birth of the Infant Jesus. Voices rise in song, tambourines rustle, castanets click. As the Gloria in Excelsi.c reaches its highest note, a papier ntui he angel descends by invisible string over the manger and a large star travels by pulley from loft to altar.
Religious fervor and chill midnight air cloak churchgoers hurrying home. Tonight there is little tarrying at bibingka stalls. for in most homes waits the Noche Buena. a midnight repast of simple or lavish proportion.
Christmas Eve's festive board features an epicurean display of meats and seafoods. cakes and sweets and fruits, as if the world's kitchens had collaborated to mount a feast to end all feasts.
Is there no tomorrow'? sighs a gorged midnight celebrator. Christmas Day's culinary delights answer with a variety and abundance that sets appetites reeling. The volume of feasting could easily smother shorter celebrations or less experienced celebrators. But not the Filipino. who long ago discovered a method for the melee. Before day is done all gifts have been distributed, leftover foods given away or stored. Children have dutifully kissed the hands of ninong and ninang (godparents) and by nightfall are dreaming of the celebration ahead.
Christmas does not end abruptly. In unwinding pace it stretches to December 28. Feast of the Innocents, to the 31st, when another midnight Mass and yet another snack ushers in the New Year, and finally to Epiphany, when the last gifts of the season are placed in children's waiting shoes.
Then Christmas, the Philippines' all too brief longest celebration in the world, comes to an end. named after the cock who crowed with the first peal of church bells, had come to stay.
Statistics:Teen pregnancy in the Philippines 2008
As of 2008, Philippines, 6.1% of the 2,648 surveyed females aged 15-10 are already mothers, 1.8% are currently pregnant with the offspring, and 8.0% have just started the course of childbearing. Some 16.5 million Filipinos belong to the 15-24 year old age group. We are forced with a truth that at a very young age a lot of young filipinos have children of their own 30% of all births belong to this group.
SOURCE: NSO and ORC-Macro's National health and demographic survey.
Social Behavior: "PO AND OPO"
These respect gestures are still very evident in our society 2008. filipinos are known for depth in respect and it is an honor to say that "po and opo" respect gesture is still used as of 2008.
Religion:Sunday Mass or Holy Mass
Filipinos are known for being prayerful and has fear of the Lord eversince. This plays a huge part in the Filipinos today. It is because until now, we filipinos are still very compassionate about religion. being the only Catholic Christian Country in Asia we are forced to be different from our neighboring countries. In effect contemporary filipinos still are going to massed every sunday and when wanted. Indeed another great filipino trait that should be preserved.
Fashion:
The latest fad of wearing a scarf
A lot of us noticed about in the beggining to half of the year of 2008 this so we call scarf was the latest fashion. It was when a lot of people of all ages wear it.
why? what for? well besides its uses, it is origianly for cold counrties. but since filipinos are known to adpot foregin objects, we transform it into somthing we can use. As a counrty in the tropical region, the materials of this scarf is made thin and light. compared to th original one, that was thick and made for colder climate. Filipinos until now are adopting foreign objects into "filipino style".
MUSIC: Tagalog and bisaya versions of foregin songs 2008
In music the contemporay filipino fad today is translating foreign songs into Pinoy verion, it may com in tagalog or bisaya form. This is what we were taking about like wise with the fashion fad. filipinos like to adpot foreign objects into it own culture to relate further with one another locally or abroad. the videos below are some examples.
Computer Games are very popular among the Filipino youth. It is the common interest for every Filipino today. It can also be played at home with gaming consoles for fun and family entertainment.Online Communities are social communities that are found online. Filipinos are familiar when it comes to this especially the community of "Friendster" and "Multiply". They use it to share things like photos to their friendsand loved ones.Cellphones are the most popular communication gadget available today. Filipinos are used to this especially when itcomes to text messaging. It is their highway to ensure the safety of each member of the family.Basketball is popular among us Filipinos. We can almost say it's like our national sport already due to the inheritence of the sport in our country.Cameras are handy when it comes to Filipino families. We Filipinos always like to capture every good moments we have in our lives like occassions, party and more. When the family is complete and having fun, we're sure that a camera is a must.Teen pregnancy is an issue that Filipinos have today. Female teens that would have engaged with premarital sex will suffer and would cause childbearing at an early age. It is a sad truth for us Filipinos.The "Po and Opo" gesture shows how respectful the Filipinos to their elders. Filipino children are taught with this gestures at a young age to show how disciplined the way the parents raised them. It is still practiced until now and will always be a part of the Filipino culture.Filipinos are very strict when it comes to religion because of their faith to the Lord. During Sundays, Filipino familes practice to attend with the family. This really shows how compassionate the Filipinos are to religion.The scarf is another fashion we inherited from the other countries. It may be looked out of place but you know what Filipinos are, they transformed it into comfortable and thinner version of the "original" scarf. It's the latest fashion seen now to us Filipinos.Filipinos like to adopt and translate foreign songs. Most of them are HipHop and RnB. It's the popular Filipino fad today. Some are translated as "Tagalog" and some are in "Bisaya" dialect.
The Filipino Family centers on its members. There are many things they cherish together. These bonds are what makes up for what the Filipino really is. Most Filipino families go out together, going to church, bonding with each other and striving for happiness. Our family is composed of all kinds of people. Family is not limited to relatives. These can be maids, pets, friends and so much more. Most of the time we go out is not just with our primary family but also with other relatives, which make it seem like a family reunion every time. The Filipino family today is very crucial to the society since it is the main thing that defines us as Filipino. Our lives revolve around our family, it gives us strength to carry on with our lives, it gives us encouragement on every failure and it gives us love with no conditions.
The development of the Filipino family revolves around Pop culture, technology, fads and the youth. People could see the difference in children discipline comparing it to the past. The children of the past are punished for their acts while now it is less occurring. The Filipino family would probably develop in a way in which long-distance would not be a problem anymore since most of our countrymen’s families have a member staying abroad to work. Some Filipino values which retains from the past is religion. Most Filipino families spend their time during Sundays to church. Their deep faith in God molds them to what is right. It gives them more reason to love each other and cherish their lives. The family of tomorrow would probably use technology as a part of their time in bonding together. Online communities would flourish with families bonding together. More happy moments preserved and more memories to love and keep.
