My Childhood Christmas Memories

My Christmas was quite different growing up from my children. I don’t know if it’s still the same back home in the Philippines.

To rejoice and anticipate the birth of Christ the King – we would make advent wreaths with 4/5 candles. Each candle is lit every week coming up to and on Christmas Day. No advent calendars with chocolates or treats.

Photo by Bastian Riccardi on Pexels.com

We also have Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass/Midnight Mass/Christmas Dawn Mass) or Simbang Gabi. That is waking up in the wee hours of the morning to come to mass at 5am. It starts on the 16th of December to the 24th of December.

To my delight the local parish put on a similar mass and called it Christmas Novena Mass. 200 parishioners came the first night. We all followed covid restrictions / social distancing.

Today higher restrictions were imposed. Choir or any form of singing or chanting were banned. A guitarist played instead and the soothing strumming reverberate throughout the church.

It meant to me that my children decided to join me a few times to mass.

❤ Santa wasn’t a big fixture in the Filipino Christmas. The birth of Jesus Christ was the reason for Christmas. ❤

Decorating the Christmas tree was also fun when I was growing up. My mum is very crafty and creative with her Christmas trees.

Now here I am with my daughter creating Christmas tiktoks!