Paskohan sa Quirino | A Good Old Christmas in Small Town Cabarroguis

There’s a certain sense of nostalgia finding a carnival behind our hotel in Quirino province. It’s like a throwback to my early years at home. When I was a kid, I revel at the sight of a small carnival being set up just in front of our building on a vacant lot. Oh we look forward to those tsubibo (small ferris wheel) rides, horror train and table games where we doesn’t seem to win. That vacant lot in the neighborhood is long gone and has been overtaken by buildings. A walk through the Paskohan sa Quirino in Cabarroguis town awakened that good old-feeling of Christmas. Simple pleasures of being with friends and family enjoying the bazaar, the rides and the company during the holiday season.

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Simbang Gabi at St Francis of Assisi Parish in El Nido

If you’re still reading this, I guess the world hasn’t ended as some people have predicted. It may be the end for the Mayan calendar last 21st of December but it seems the universe have other plans. A calendar may have ended but it’s also the beginning of something new. For me, staying in a small town like El Nido during the holidays made me appreciate the simple life and celebration they have for the season. It’s refreshing to be away from the mall world for once and avoiding the Christmas rush. It has been a tradition for me to take Simbang Gabi (Misa de Gallo) photos every year and this time I decided to catch the morning ceremonies at St Francis of Assisi Parish in El Nido. Looking at the predictions on a positive light, we have a lot to be thankful for the world having not ended yet.

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Makati: Bright Lights Beckon this Holiday Season at Ayala’s Symphony of Lights

Captivating. Dazzling. It’s really an experience watching the Ayala Triangle Symphony of Lights. I brought some of my relatives there and I was amused seeing the awe-filled look on their faces. This is another thing I like about Christmas, a lot of free entertainment for everyone like this light and music show and it’s becoming a new tradition in the likes of the COD Christmas display decades ago. And technology indeed has caught up in capturing the light spectacle. While I enjoyed shooting the lights, I also enjoyed looking at the people watching them.

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Manila: Simbang Gabi and some Christmas Wishes

First let me greet you all a blessed Christmas. It’s been a crazy year with a lot of highs and lows. But Christmas is here to remind us to count our blessings instead and see the world in a different perspective. I can’t say that things have all been good seeing the tragedy that happened to our brothers in Mindanao. But it shows that there is hope for humanity seeing the great outpour of support from people giving what little they can offer. This season, I revisit Simbang Gabi on some of the popular churches in Manila to capture a Filipino tradition.

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Pampanga: Giant Lanterns Bedazzle Again at Ligligan Parul 2011

I try not to travel around during the holiday seasons as the vehicular and human traffic is horrendous at this time of the year. But I decided to make an exception on the 17th of December 2011 to witness this year’s Ligligan Parul 2011 or the Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando, Pampanga. It’s a grand annual lights and music spectacle featuring the Filipino’s traditional Parol (Christmas Lantern) showcased in a gigantic scale. This year, 10 baranggays (villages) take turns to display their sophisticated light design display on their Giant Lanterns in-sync with their choice of music to give us audiences a feast to our senses.

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2007 Merry Christmas!

Xmas Tree Parol

To all my visitors, regular blog readers here or everyone who stumbled here, wishing a sincere Merry Christmas to ALL! May each one of you have a joyous celebration with families and friends. And don’t forget that CHRIST is the heart of CHRISTmas who always reminds us to GIVE. With that you can send your gifts to this address…. hahaha kidding. Just enjoy the holidays, so eat, drink and be merry!

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