Signs that you're a Filipino

You're a Pinoy if...

1. You eat with your hand.
2. You Points with your lips.
3. You eat rice every meal.
4. You use “po” or “opo” when talking to older people.
5. You know how to ride the Jeepney.
6. You kiss on the cheek or bless (Mano Po) to greet elders.
7. You eat balot (duck embryo).
8. You shout “hoy” when calling someone.
9. You memorize Korean song even you don’t understand its meaning.
10. You spend hours at starbucks.

What to do in the Philippines : Simbang Gabi

 Celebrating Christmas in the Philippines will not be complete without attending Simbang Gabi(Evening Mass), a nine-day Roman Catholic ritual novena which starts from December 16 and ends on December 24. Simbang Gabi usually performed as early as 4 or 5 in the morning.The last day of the Simbang Gabi, which is Christmas Eve, is called Misa de Gallo, which literally translates to "Rooster's Mass"

History

The Simbang Gabi originated not just out of devotion, but also due to practicality. In the 333 years that Spain ruled the Philippines, it was customary for the friars and priests (known then as frailes y cura parrocos) to celebrate Holy Mass for the multitudes of Filipinos living in the barrios. In less than two generations after the arrival of the Spaniards, or by 1600, the greater part of the islands have been successfully converted to the Catholic faith.
Simbang Gabi starts so early because of the experience of the Filipinos under the Spanish Regime.

An agricultural country famed for its rice fields and coconut and sugarcane plantations, families then started their day even before the sun would rise. Many farmers (also known as sacadas, campesinos, and casamacs) toiled all day. They only had a break during noon everyday, when the scorching sun would be at its peak. Losing an hour due to the inhospitable temperature, farmers worked very hard and budgeted their time wisely unless they incur the ire of the local encargado, or administrator of the Spanish lord or encomendero / hacendero.

In between the planting season and harvest, there is a lull in the back breaking work imposed on the Filipinos out in the fields. Those who are old enough to sustain manual labor are gathered under the "tributo" system whereby they would have to work for free for the Spanish government, where they were tasked to build everything from cobblestone streets, the felling of trees for new government buildings and other projects. The women also have their share of work. Besides tending to their vegetable gardens or tumana, they were conscripted to work as household help for the local political elite.

The Filipinos worked non stop in the plantations and homes of the ruling Spaniards. Nonetheless, when the annual Christmas season would begin, it was customary to hold novenas around the entire country. The friars and the priests saw that the people, although tired and numb from work, wanted to hear the word of the Lord, even before toiling out in the fields yet again. As a compromise, the clergy began to hold Mass early dawn when the land would still be dark, a break in tradition prevalent in Spain and her Latin American colonies.
Filipinos came by the countless multitudes and afterwards, it became a distinct feature in Philippine culture to celebrate Holy Mass at such a rather early time.(wikipedia.com)

 Other Custom related to Simbang Gabi

Foods

After hearing Mass, Filipino families partake of traditional Filipino holiday fare sold outside the church, either within the church precincts or during breakfast at home. Vendors offer a wealth of native delicacies, including bibingka (rice flour and egg-based cake, cooked using coal burners above and under); putò bumbóng (a purple, sticky rice delicacy steamed in bamboo tubes, with brown sugar and shredded dried coconut meat served as condiments); salabát (hot ginger tea); or tsokoláte (thick hot cocoa). These are the typical breakfast treats after Simbang Gabi. In some Aglipayan churches, the congregation is invited after Mass to partake of the "paínit" (after-Mass snacks of delicacies with coffee or cocoa) at the house of the sponsor of the Mass.

Make A wish

Many Filipino catholic believes that you can make a wish on the first day of the mass and when you completed the nine day mass, your wish will be granted.

Adam Corolla's Racist Slur against Manny Pacquaio and Filipinos

Manny Pacquiao and the entire Filipino nation receive an inhuman racist slur from a stand up comedian.


Adam Carolla,is a struggling Italian-American comedian who made a name as radio host in his own shows known as 'The Adam Carolla Podcast' , 'Loveline' and 'The Adam Corolla Show'.

Quoted from Adam Corolla

“Here’s how you know when your country doesn’t have a lot going for it: When everything is about Manny Pacquiao.”

“Get a fuckin life as a country”

“All you fuckin got is just an illiterate guy who happens to smash other guys in the head better than other people”

“Really, you want some guy with brain damage running your country? Why don’t you get your sh*t together?”

“All they have over there is Manny Pacquiao and sex stores.”

“What happens when Floyd Mayweather beats him? Does your country go into depression?”

Are Filipinos Really Asian?

[Here is a very enlightening video by Pilipino-American vlogger, Jokway, that answers the question of whether Pilipinos are really Asian?

Vote for Efren Peñaflorida as CNN Hero of the year

Please support and vote for Efren Peñaflorida as CNN hero of the year.

CNN has Choosen Efren Peñaflorida with his group Dynamic Teen Company with their Pushcart Classroom Project last march 2009 as the CNN Hero of the week.

Pushcart classes help break gang chain

CAVITE CITY, Philippines (CNN) -- At 16, Rhandolf Fajardo reflects on his former life as a gang member.

"My gang mates were the most influential thing in my life," says Fajardo, who joined a gang when he was in sixth grade. "We were pressured to join."

He's not alone. In the Philippines, teenage membership in urban gangs has surged to an estimated 130,000 in the past 10 years, according to the Preda Foundation, a local human rights charity.

"I thought I'd get stuck in that situation and that my life would never improve," recalls Fajardo. "I would probably be in jail right now, most likely a drug addict -- if I hadn't met Efren."

Efren Peñaflorida, 28, also was bullied by gangs in high school. Today, he offers Filipino youth an alternative to gang membership through education. Vote now for the CNN Hero of the Year

"Gang members are groomed in the slums as early as 9 years old," says Peñaflorida. "They are all victims of poverty."

For the past 12 years, Peñaflorida and his team of teen volunteers have taught basic reading and writing to children living on the streets. Their main tool: A pushcart classroom.

Stocked with books, pens, tables and chairs, his Dynamic Teen Company recreates a school setting in unconventional locations such as the cemetery and municipal trash dump.

Peñaflorida knows firsthand the adversity faced by these children. Born into a poor family, he lived in a shanty near the city dump site. But he says he refused to allow his circumstances to define his future.

"Instead of being discouraged, I promised myself that I would pursue education," he recalls. "I will strive hard; I will do my best."

Don't Miss

• Get involved: Dynamic Teen Company
• In depth: CNN Heroes

In high school, Peñaflorida faced a new set of challenges. Gang activity was rampant; they terrorized the student body, vandalized the school and inducted members by forcing them to rape young girls, he says.

"I felt the social discrimination. I was afraid to walk down the street."

Peñaflorida remembers standing up to a gang leader, refusing to join his gang. That confrontation proved fateful. At 16, he and his friends "got the idea to divert teenagers like us to be productive," he says.

He created the Dynamic Teen Company to offer his classmates an outlet to lift up themselves and their community. For Peñaflorida, that meant returning to the slums of his childhood to give kids the education he felt they deserved.

"They need education to be successful in life. It's just giving them what others gave to me," he says.

Today, children ranging from ages 2 to 14 flock to the pushcart every Saturday to learn reading, writing, arithmetic and English from Peñaflorida and his trained teen volunteers. Watch Peñaflorida and his group in action with their push cart classroom »

"Our volunteers serve as an inspiration to other children," he says.

The group also runs a hygiene clinic, where children can get a bath and learn how to brush their teeth.

Since 1997, an estimated 10,000 members have helped teach more than 1,500 children living in the slums. The organization supports its efforts by making and selling crafts and collecting items to recycle. Take a look at the slums where Peñaflorida and his group spend their Saturdays »

Through his group, Peñaflorida has successfully mentored former gang members, addicts and dropouts, seeing potential where others see problems.

"Before, I really didn't care for my life," says Michael Advincula, who started doing drugs when he was 7. "But then Efren patiently dug me from where I was buried. It was Efren who pushed me to get my life together." Watch Advincula describe how he met Peñaflorida in the slums »

Today, Advincula is a senior in high school and one of the group's volunteers.

Peñaflorida hopes to expand the pushcart to other areas, giving more children the chance to learn and stay out of gangs.

"I always tell my volunteers that you are the change that you dream and I am the change that I dream. And collectively we are the change that this world needs to be."

A Song Tribute to All Filipino Heroes Who Helped Typhoon Ondoy Victims

Song Composed by: Conrad Torres
Song Title: Bagong Bayani
"A Song Tribute to All Filipino Heroes Who Helped Typhoon Ondoy Victims"