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Newsletter Vol. V
DEC-JAN.  2001

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BARKADAHANG PINAY HOROSCOPE


Ang inyong monthly horoscope ay nandito!

KAWIKAAN of the MONTH...


~"There are 12 months in a year, 30 days in a month, 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute, but only 1 like you in a lifetime"~

~"Ang pag-ilag sa kaaway ang tunay na katapangan."~

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MONTHLY TRIVIA

Did you know that ... these two meals Media Noche and Noche Buena...  are both  eaten on Christmas, but on different days? 

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THE PINOY'S CHRISTMAS

 

Christmas in the Philippines has a lot of unique features. Let's go over some and see if you are familiar with them.


THE MISA DE GALLO

The Misa de gallo (or simbang gabi) is believed to have developed out of an old rural practice since Christmas in the country calendar falls within the harvest season. So, it was customary for farmers then to attend the early morning Mass to give them sufficient time to go to the fields afterwards. The townspeople would wake to the call of the cocks, the bells, and the bands.

THE CHRISTMAS TIENDAS

After the simbang gabi masses, it is customary to eat at a Christmas tienda. These are modest makeshift stalls made of bamboo poles, roofted with coconut leaves, and with banana leaf-covered "dulang" (native table) for counters. Here, people buy steaming puto bumbong and bibingka, and drink salabat (ginger tea) served by the tienda keepers. Rice and coconut cakes are often served in banana leaves or hollows bamboo tubes, which are baked in open earthen and tin ovens.

THE MISA DE AGUINALDO

On Christmas Eve, a midnight mass is said, fittingly called misa de aguinaldo, since it stresses the supreme value of God's gift (aguinaldo) in Christ's birth. The midnight mass commences a few minutes before twelve for the Gloria to be chanted at exactly the stroke of the midnight hour. A figure of an angel travels from the altar to the belen to shower the Infant Jesus with flowers in the mangers. The church bells chime and choir sings. At the end of the mass, the faithful are invited to a ritual of veneration. As people take turns in kissing the feet of Jesus' image, the choir continues it's glad songs to the rhythm of tambourines and castanets.

It's Another New Year...

...but for what reason?

"Happy New Year!" That greeting will be said and heard for at least the first couple of weeks as a new year gets under way. But the day celebrated as New Year's Day in modern America was not always January 1.

ANCIENT NEW YEARS

The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible crescent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.

The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.

In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations.

During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years.

NEW YEAR TRADITIONS

Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California.

Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports centerpiece of the festival.

The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus.

The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.

FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR

Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

AULD LANG SYNE

The song, "Auld Lang Syne," playing in the background, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." 

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Auld Lang Syne



*DISCLAIMER: Articles that were contributed are from member's own collections which they got from internet, magazines and books, and some articles were written by the members. If you have any questions or comments send it to barkadahangpinay-owner@yahoogroups.com *


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