MyID: 23 March 2005 into Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport

IDsteve,

My ID:  1:22pm, Wednesday, 23 March 2005:  Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Philippine Airlines flight PR502 from Singapore

The tone was set for my Initial Descent into the Philippines before we had even approached Manila. About two hours into my flight from Singapore, where I had just transited from the United States, the Philippine Airlines flight attendant serving my section pulled me aside and asked a question: “Do you play basketball in the PBA?”

Of course, I had no idea what that was (it turns out it’s the Philippine Basketball Association), so I politely suggested that while I do play basketball, I was not a PBA participant. The middle-aged woman apologized unnecessarily, saying that I looked like I played basketball (perhaps my bald head at the time suggested as much), and asked if I needed anything else to make my flight more enjoyable. I settled for some mango juice and reclined my way into Manila.

The pleasant exchange taught me a few things about what to expect upon my arrival, which turned out to be true. The people were not shy, yet very humble, warm, polite and wanted to make me feel welcome. While this can be expected in the hospitality industry, in the Philippines I felt it from everyone, and it was genuine (and perhaps this is why the hospitality industry around the world employs so many people from the Philippines). I knew the visit would be good, and indeed it was.

Perhaps it was the dome that fooled the flight attendant...

Perhaps it was the dome that fooled the flight attendant…

Simbang Gabi: Height of the Christmas Season in the Philippines

IDsteve,

Christmas is one of the world’s most widely-recognized and celebrated holidays. From Europe’s Christmas markets to the USA’s holiday shopping frenzy, in some places it is difficult to walk down the street without knowing that Christmas is approaching. Nowhere, however, is Christmas a bigger deal than in the Philippines.

Here, you may start hearing Christmas carols as early as September, and you aren’t likely to see any Christmas decorations come down until the Feast of Santo Niño de Cebu on the third Sunday of January.

The peak of the Filipino Christmas season begins on December 16th, with Simbang Gabi. This term, meaning “night mass”, features daily pre-dawn masses from the 16th through Christmas Eve, a total of nine. It is believed that God grants the special wish of anyone who makes it to all nine.

In more devout parishes, these masses take place between 3:00am and 5:00am, although in some places (especially in Filipino-heavy parishes outside of the Philippines), the masses are held the preceding evening. Traditionally, attendees follow the mass by having coffee or hot chocolate along with traditional foods, such as bibingka (a cake made with rice flour and eggs) or puto bumbong (a sticky purple rice coated in brown sugar and coconut).

A poster advertising Simbang Gabi masses at a U.S. church

A poster advertising Simbang Gabi masses at a U.S. church