Belated Merry Christmas...

                               Question: How Philippines Celebrates the Christmas Eve?

Christmas in the Philippines, one of two predominantly Catholic countries inAsia (the other one being East Timor), is one of the biggest holidays in the archipelago. The country has earned the distinction of celebrating the world's longest Christmas season,^[1] with Christmas carols heard as early as September and lasting until Epiphany, the feast of the Black Nazarene on January 9 or the Feast of the Santo Niño de Cebú on the third Sunday of January. The official observance is from 16 December with the beginning of theSimbang Gabi to Epiphany.

Christmas parties

In urban areas like Metro Manila, many offices organise Christmas parties. These are usually held during the second week of December, or right before schools and universities go on holiday. Common activities include Monito/Monita (Kris Kringle), musical or theatrical performances and parlor games. Food is provided either through potluck, or via a pool of contributions to buy food. Some have fireworks displays.

Filipino Simbang Gabi/Misa de Gallo

Simbang Gabi (Filipino, "Night Mass"; Spanish: Misa de Gallo, "Rooster's Mass") is a novena of dawn Masses from 16 December toChristmas Eve. The Simbang Gabi is practised mainly by Catholic and Aglipayans, with some Evangelical Christian and independentProtestant churches having adopted the practise of having pre-Christmas dawn services. Attending the Masses is meant to show devotion to God and heightened anticipation for Christ's birth, and folk belief holds that God grants the special wish of a devotee that hears all nine Masses.

Morning observance of Simbang Gabi begins as early as 03:00 PST, while in some parishes, anticipated Masses begin the previous evening at 20:00 PST. After hearing Mass, Catholic families buy traditional Filipino holiday fare for breakfast outside the church and eat it either within the church precincts or at home. Vendors offer many native delicacies, including bibingka (rice flour and egg-based cake, cooked using coal burners above and under); putò bumbóng (a purple, sticky rice delicacy steamed in bamboo tubes, buttered then sprinkled with brown sugar and shredded dried coconut meat). Drinks include coffee, salabát (a ginger tisane) and tsokoláte (thick, Spanish-style hot chocolate). Some Aglipayan churches invite the congregation to partake of the "paínit" (literally, "heater"), a post-Mass snack of mostly rice pastries served with coffee or cocoa at the house of the Mass sponsor.

Filipino Christmas Eve

For Filipinos, Christmas Eve ("Bisperas ng Pasko") on 24 December is celebrated with the Midnight Mass, and the traditional Noche Buena feast. Family members dine together at around midnight on traditional yuletide fare, which includes: queso de bola (Spanish: "ball of cheese", which is edam cheese) sealed with red wax; tsokoláte, pasta, fruit salad, pandesal, relleno and hamón (Christmas ham). Some families would also open presents at this time.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_the_Philippines

                                                                Conclusion:

For me, I guess it's not only the Philippines who celebrates the Christmas Eve in it's most memorable season....

Even though, I don't have yet any experience celebrating the christmas season outside the country but one thing is for sure.... Everybody synchronized to celebrates the birth of our almighty savior together with our Love once and Family.... ^___^

                                                                     ~XoXo~