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Filipino Culture
Family Life
We have close family ties in Philippines. Even when the children get married, they never forget to visit and take care of their parents. Parents are very loving towards their children. Parents try not to reprimand their children in public and children are expected to be respectful towards their parents. In general, the mother and father share responsibilities and power in the family. Just as in America, many Filipina women work outside the home and they have to balance their family and job responsibilities. Most Filipino families consist of the parents and 4 to 6 children. Adult children usually stay with their parents until they get married. They are expected to contribute to the family income. Extended family is also very important in Philippines. We spend a lot of time with our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.
Beliefs
Philippines is the only country in Asia with a Christian majority. Most Filipinos are Catholic. We celebrate many holidays such as Easter and Christmas, but in Philippines the celebrations go on a lot longer than in the U.S. For example, the Christmas celebration lasts a couple of weeks. During Easter, some extremely devout Christians even take part in temporary crucifixions to show penitence. About 5% of the population is Muslim. Filipino Muslims mostly live in Mindanao. Some of these Muslims are separatists who want to create their own country.
Language
Philippines is a very linguistically diverse country. English and Tagalog are the official languages. As a result of colonization by Spain, many Spanish words have found their way into the languages of Phillipines. English arrived when the U.S. annexed Philippines after the Spanish-American War. There are many names for Tagalog, including Filipino and Pilipino. Other languages include Bisaya, Bikol, and Waray Waray. In all Philippines has over 170 languages.
Dress
Today in Philippines, people wear modern, western-style clothing. Children wear jeans and t-shirts, just like in the U.S. At formal occasions men might wear special traditional clothing called barong, which is a long decorated shirt. Women may wear traditional dresses called terno, which are beautifully embroidered. However, most of the time, we wear clothes that are the same as Americans.
Food
Filipinos have a lot of fresh foods, and we use all of them in our cooking. We eat a lot of rice, fish, and seafood, as well as several kinds of meat. We cook with flavors like lemon grass, tamarind, soy sauce, and vinegar. Many dishes have coconut milk or broth in them. One of the best meat dishes is lechin baboy, whole roasted pig. Other popular dishes include a special soup called sinigang, and a stew called adobo, which contains chicken, squid, and vegetables. Since Philippines is a tropical country, we have a lot of delicious fruit, including lanzones, santal, atis, and rambutan. It is so difflcult to find these fruits in the U.S. Of course we eat a lot of mangos of all different types. We also have a fruit called durian, which is very smelly but very delicious!
Recreation
Filipinos enjoy many different sports. The national sport is sipa, whichis kind of like volleyball played with feet instead of hands. Many people like to play soccer and box, but basketball is the most popular sport of all. Filipinos also have their own version of martial arts. We play sungka, which is a board game that uses sea shells. Filipinos also really love all kinds of music. We have Filipino rock, pop, and hip hop songs. We have a lot of street festivals called Barrio Fiesta, where we can eat, listen to music, and dance. Because Philippines is an archipelago, we have many beautiful beaches. We love to go there to swim, stay cool, or just hang out with our friends.
