A Filipino Holiday


Christmas has come and gone but the New Years is fast approaching and eating insane amounts of foods has reached a new high.

Hospitality and warmth are what we are most known for (so says the numerous guide books) but according to my foreign uncles the thing they notice most is the relation of Filipinos and Food. After the initial greeting of hello, we usually follow it up with kain na! (let's eat!)

Filipinos love drama, love it so much it colors everything we do, from our politicians to the poorest man on the streets. But it most comes out in our celebrations, especially with New Year. Every household has some form of firecrackers, or fireworks, although with the economic situation the number of paputoks (fireworks) have diminished. Alas.

We have variety upon variety of fireworks from the very tame to the outrageously dangerous.

Such as:

Watusi - Usually handled by kids, and not without its dangers, it creates sparks through friction and once it starts you enjoy watching it dance around.
Roman candle - Tamest of all, light it and watch the pretty colors.
Sintoron ni Hudas - A noisy and dangerous firecracker.
Plapla (five star) - Shaped as a small triangle, reminiscent of those light em bombs. Light it up and throw it far, far away unless you want a limb cut off.
Super Lolo - Larger and more dangerous version of the plapla.
Sawa (python) - Ahh... this... the noisest of 'em all lit seconds away from Midnight, a series of Five stars connected together can go as high as 10 feet or more; it takes more than 10 minutes to finish. Signals that the New Year has truly arrived.

The above are just a few of the fireworks I can remember at the top of my head, I'll add some more come New Year's Eve.