Christmas In Manila: Home Away From Home

One of the best parts of Christmas for me is actually the journey home. It's always exciting passing through airports, seeing the Christmas lights and watching people gradually easing into relaxed mode the closer they get to home. My father usually picks me up from the airport and drives us through the countryside back to my hometown as we catch up on all the latest news. Sometimes it's snowy or icy.

Once I finally make it home, I usually spend the days before Christmas Day frantically rushing around trying to find gifts for family, visiting some relatives along the way. Christmas Eve has always been important in our family. When I was younger, I would have gone out with my friends and had a few drinks, came home a little merry to hang out with my parents and then open my first present. We had a rule in our house, one gift was permitted to be opened on Christmas Eve. Usually a small one. On Christmas Day, we open the remaining gifts followed by Mass and then Christmas dinner. Back home everything is closed on Christmas Day: no shops, no malls open, nothing. Which means the rest of the day is spent relaxing, watching movies or playing games with the rest of the family.

I will definitely miss the journey home, the rushing around, catching up with family and friends and Christmas dinner this year.

Turning now to Christmas in Manila. Until now, I had never been here for the main event but I stayed late enough in December to have a good sense of the Christmas spirit in The Philippines. Of course, I know about the 'Ber Months' and that the Christmas decorations are in place pretty early on, even as early as September or October. And, how great they are looking this year too -- around Ayala Triangle, especially.

Aside from the early Christmas celebrations, another curious sight that the unassuming visitor might notice as they drive around Manila is the groups of people in parks, in side streets and car parks practicing dance routines. For locals, this of course is indicative of practice and preparation for the Filipino Company Christmas Party. This usually involves departments facing off against each other in a Filipino version of a Simon Cowell talent show production. I was lucky enough to be invited to be a judge on a few occasions for the company that I was working with in Manila. It was great fun.

I could not believe the effort that went into these dance routines. Costumes, choreography, and singing in groups, some live, some lip-synched. Some of them were so good I would have gladly paid money to see them. I think if someone gathered up the best of the Christmas dance routines from all the company Christmas parties in The Philippines, they could make a successful traveling entertainment show out of them.

After attending a couple of these Christmas parties, I got to thinking. Where did this idea come from? How is this a thing? Well, I asked some of my fellow Filipino colleagues and I was informed that it comes from a Filipino family tradition. Apparently, the younger members of the family at Christmas are usually expected to perform a song or a dance routine for the elders. Perhaps, this is why karaoke is so popular here. Well, I found that quite endearing and allowed me to view this whole phenomenon in a new light. So we made a video to pay homage to it.

Tell us, does your family still have this tradition? Do you enjoy the Christmas talent competition? Have you ever been spotted by Simon Cowell?

This week I've curated some Christmas classics for you to enjoy with your loved ones over Christmas.