Filipino Christmas Traditions

December 25, 2012 by odnphil

PASKO: Christmas in the Philippines

Text reprinted from:  http://tagaloglang.com/Filipino-Culture/Holiday-Celebrations/filipino-christmas-traditions.html
 
 

The Tagalog word Pasko derives from the Spanish word Pascua. Although the word Pascua means Easter, Pascua de Navidad refers to Christmas.

The Philippines is known for having the world’s longest Christmas season. The four months that end with the syllable –ber are considered Christmas months, which is why stores and households start playing carols on the first day of September! And the holiday season extends beyond December 31st. It doesn’t end until the Feast of the Epiphany or Three Kings (Tatlong Hari) which falls around January 6.

If Mexico has piñatas, the Philippines has its parol. Of course, a parol is not something to hit with a stick. It is a Christmas lantern, most commonly in the shape of a five-pointed star. The bamboo or rattan frame is covered with rice paper, tissue or cellophane. Almost every family either builds or buys one to hang by the window or door. Shopping malls construct giant versions of parol. Traditionally, a candle was placed inside for light to shine through; for safety reasons, people now use bulbs or even a flashlight. Families, schools and other places also display a creche or nativity scene called belen. Christmas trees made of plastic are decorated with lights, tinsel and balls. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off / Posted in Feature

Congratulations to our New Licensed Teacher

November 27, 2012 by odnphil

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Board for Professional Teachers (BPT) announced Monday that 25,136 elementary teachers out of 50,997 examinees (49.29%) and 20,834 secondary teachers out of 47,892 examinees (43.50%) successfully passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers (L.E.T.).
http://www.letresults.com/2012/10/teachers-board-exam-results-september-2012.html

Myrna Libugan Tin-awan is among the new licensed elementary teachers.

“The ODN sisters helped me to create a new life. Through their mission in Lestonnac Youth Center, they helped me to become a professional teacher. They helped me to become a well-rounded person. Well-rounded because they did not only make me professional but they helped me to develop my social, emotional, economic and most of all my spiritual aspect in life.”  (excerpt from My Life-changing Experience in Lestonnac Youth Center)

Comments Off / Posted in Infonews

Niña Maria 14th Foundation Day

November 26, 2012 by odnphil

Feast of the Presentation of the Child Mary in the Temple
November 21, 2012

Theme -  ”Faith:  Live with Mary”

Pope Benedict XVI has declared October 11, 2012 until November 24, 2012 a “YEAR OF FAITH.”  He mentioned that, “It will be a moment of grace and commitment to a more complete conversion to God, to strengthen our faith in him and proclaim him with joy to the people of our time.” The Pope added,  “new impetus to the mission of the whole Church to lead men out of the desert in which they often find themselves, to the place of life, of friendship with Christ.”

As with Mary’s birth, we read that Anna and Joachim offered in the Temple when she was three years. This was to carry out a promise made to God when Anna was still childless. It emphasizes that the holiness conferred on Mary from the beginning of her life on earth continued through her early childhood and beyond.

In Tambo, Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City where presence of the mission of the Company of Mary has been cultivated, we celebrated the 14th Foundation Day. It has been a tradition in this community to honor Mary as our patroness and whose deep faith had been shown throughout her life. We too are encouraged to live FAITH with our beloved Mary. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off / Posted in Mission

Finding God in My Sendong Experience

November 12, 2012 by odnphil

I have been to many trials in my life. I have been to different ups and downs. But Sendong experience was the worst ever. Honestly, life after Sendong is really very difficult. I tried to be strong for my family and it hurts inside seeing them battling to survive, answering questions like, how to procure materials to build a new home, or should we go back to the old area even taking the risk again. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off / Posted in Revisiting Sendong

Philippines has a new cardinal

October 26, 2012 by odnphil
Pope surprises Archbishop Tagle

By 
Reprint from: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/54024/ph-has-a-new-cardinal
Pope Benedict XVI has added Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle and five other prelates to the ranks of cardinals who will elect his successor.

Benedict made the surprise announcement during his weekly general audience  in the Vatican Wednesday and said the new cardinals would be elevated at a consistory on Nov. 24.

The nominations help even out the geographic distribution of cardinals, which had tilted heavily toward Italy, according to the Associated Press.

Aside from Tagle, the other new cardinals are Msgr. James Harvey, the American prefect of the Pope’s household; Archbishop of Abuja, Nigeria, John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan; Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia, Ruben Salazar Gomez;  Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites in Lebanon Bechara Boutros Rai; and the Major Archbishop of the Trivandrum of the Siro-Malankaresi in India Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off / Posted in Infonews

‘What a wonderful gift to the youth of our land’

October 21, 2012 by odnphil
By 
Reprint from : http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/292770/what-a-wonderful-gift-to-the-youth-of-our-land
 

(Editor’s Note: Excerpts from the Reflections of Fr. C. G. Arevalo, S.J, from the booklet, “Pedro Calungsod: Young Visayan Proto Martyr,” edited by Sister Bernadita Dianzon and published by Paulines Publishing House)

What a wonderful gift to the youth of our land, at a time when our faith seeks to affirm the realities it believes in, in the face of the corrosion of unbelief which the spirit of the times (and its control of so much of media) surrounds us with, … what a wonderful gift to place before our eyes the figure of the 18-year-old Visayan youth, martyr of the faith! Pedro Calungsod lives: he inspires us not only as a hero from the past, but as one who stands before God to pray for our Filipino young people today. He speaks to today’s young people, who must face other times and other struggles, but who will find, like him, the final meanings of their lives in the faith they have been born to, and must now make truly their own, in obedience and love. Read the rest of this entry »

Comments Off / Posted in Infonews

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →