When the first notes of “Jose Mari Chan” drift through shopping malls and radio stations in September, Filipinos know what time it is: Christmas season has officially begun. While most countries celebrate Christmas for a few weeks in December, the Philippines stretches the festivities across four months, earning it the distinction of hosting the world’s longest Christmas celebration. But this isn’t just about early decorating or extended shopping seasons. The Filipino Christmas is a fascinating cultural phenomenon rooted in history, faith, family values, and an irrepressible spirit of joy.
The BER Months: When Christmas Begins in September
Ask any Filipino when Christmas starts, and they’ll tell you: as soon as the calendar hits a month ending in “ber.” 1st September marks the unofficial beginning of the Christmas countdown, a full 116 days before 25th December. Christmas songs flood the airwaves, decorations appear in stores and homes, and people begin their holiday planning with enthusiasm that would seem premature anywhere else in the world.
This four-month celebration isn’t mandated by law or church doctrine. It’s simply become part of Filipino culture, a collective agreement that Christmas deserves more than a few rushed weeks of celebration. The extended season allows families to savour the anticipation, spread out preparations, and fully immerse themselves in the joy of the holidays.
Historical Roots: Where East Meets West
To understand why Christmas holds such a powerful place in Filipino hearts, we need to look back at the nation’s unique history. The Philippines is the only predominantly Christian nation in Asia, with about 86% of the population identifying as Roman Catholic. This distinctive religious landscape resulted from over 300 years of Spanish colonisation, which began in 1565 when Miguel López de Legazpi established the first Spanish settlement.
Spanish missionaries introduced Christianity and its celebrations, including Christmas traditions like Misa de Gallo (Midnight Mass), nativity scenes (Belen), and carolling. However, Filipinos didn’t simply adopt these traditions wholesale. Instead, they blended Spanish Catholic customs with indigenous values and practices, creating something uniquely Filipino.
The Filipino concept of “fiesta” culture, which celebrates community gatherings with abundant food and extended celebrations, predates Spanish arrival. When Christianity was introduced, this existing love of communal celebration merged beautifully with Christmas festivities, naturally extending the holiday season beyond what Spanish colonisers might have originally intended.
The Power of Family and Balikbayan Culture
At the heart of the extended Filipino Christmas lies the profound importance of family, or “pamilya,” in Filipino culture. The Philippines has one of the world’s largest diaspora populations, with millions of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and immigrants living abroad. These “balikbayans” (returnees) often can only visit home once a year, and Christmas is traditionally that time.
The long Christmas season accommodates the logistics of global travel and family reunions. September to January gives families maximum flexibility to plan visits, coordinate schedules across time zones, and ensure everyone can participate in celebrations. When a relative arrives from Dubai in October or another from California in November, the ongoing Christmas season means they’re still coming “in time for Christmas.”
This extended period also allows families to spread out celebrations. There might be one gathering when the first relatives arrive, another for Noche Buena (Christmas Eve dinner), and continued festivities through the New Year and Three Kings Day. Each gathering reinforces family bonds and creates precious memories that sustain people through another year of separation.
Simbang Gabi: Nine Days of Dawn Devotion
One of the most beloved Filipino Christmas traditions is Simbang Gabi, also known as Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass). This novena of dawn masses runs from December 16 to 24, with services typically beginning at 4:00 or 5:00 AM. The tradition dates back to Spanish colonial times when it was scheduled early so farmers could attend before working in the fields.
Today, attending all nine masses has become a cherished tradition, with popular belief holding that completing the novena means your Christmas wish will be granted. The early morning masses create a special atmosphere of quiet devotion, and the darkness gradually giving way to dawn mirrors the spiritual symbolism of light entering the world through Christ’s birth.
After each mass, vendors outside churches sell traditional Filipino breakfast foods: bibingka (rice cake cooked in clay pots lined with banana leaves), puto bumbong (purple rice cake steamed in bamboo tubes), hot chocolate, and salabat (ginger tea). These foods are almost exclusively available during the Christmas season, making them deeply nostalgic and eagerly anticipated each year.
The commitment required for Simbang Gabi, waking before dawn nine days in a row, demonstrates the depth of Filipino Christmas devotion. It’s not a passive celebration but an active, disciplined practice that brings communities together in shared sacrifice and faith.
Economic Realities and the 13th Month Pay
There’s also a practical economic dimension to the Philippine Christmas season. Philippine labour law mandates that most employees receive a “13th month pay” by 24th December essentially an extra month’s salary. This bonus transforms December into a time of relative financial abundance, allowing families to purchase gifts, prepare elaborate meals, and travel to reunite with relatives.
The early start to Christmas season in September allows people to budget and plan for this spending. Markets and stores capitalise on this extended shopping period with sales and promotions, but it also genuinely helps families spread out their expenses rather than facing a concentrated financial burden in December alone.
Parol: The Star That Lights the Season
Perhaps no symbol better represents Filipino Christmas than the parol, a traditional Christmas lantern shaped like a star. Representing the Star of Bethlehem that guided the Three Wise Men, parols originally were simple constructions of bamboo and papel de hapon (Japanese paper) illuminated by candles.
Today, parols range from small window decorations to elaborate giant installations, featuring electric lights, intricate designs, and creative interpretations. The Giant Lantern Festival in San Fernando, Pampanga, showcases parols up to 20 feet in diameter with thousands of synchronized lights creating dazzling displays.
Parols appear as early as September, their distinctive star shape immediately signalling Christmas’s arrival. They adorn homes, businesses, streets, and even jeepneys (the colourful public transport vehicles). The parol’s ubiquity throughout the BER months serves as a constant visual reminder of the season, reinforcing the festive atmosphere across months rather than weeks.
Music, Food, and Endless Celebration
Filipino Christmas wouldn’t be complete without its soundtrack. While international Christmas songs are popular, Filipino Christmas classics dominate the season. José Mari Chan’s “Christmas in Our Hearts” has become so iconic that Filipinos joke about him emerging from hibernation each September. His music has essentially become the official signal that Christmas has arrived.
Christmas carolling, or “pamamaskuhan,” sees groups of children (and sometimes adults) going door-to-door singing Christmas songs in exchange for small amounts of money or treats. This tradition extends throughout the entire season, creating a festive soundtrack in neighbourhoods from September through January.
The food is another essential element. Beyond Noche Buena’s grand feast featuring dishes like lechon (roasted pig), ham, queso de bola (Edam cheese), pasta, and countless desserts, Filipino families prepare special foods throughout the season. The appearance of Christmas-specific dishes in markets and at family gatherings serves as another marker of the extended celebration.
A Season of Resilience and Joy
Perhaps most remarkably, Filipinos maintain their extended Christmas spirit even in the face of hardship. The Philippines regularly experiences typhoons, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, yet Christmas celebrations persist. This resilience reflects a deeper cultural characteristic: the Filipino ability to find joy and maintain hope regardless of circumstances.
The long Christmas season isn’t escapism, but rather an affirmation of the values, faith, family, community, generosity, and joy that Filipinos hold sacred. By extending Christmas across four months, Filipinos create a sustained period where these values take centre stage, providing spiritual and emotional nourishment that carries people through the rest of the year.
More Than Just Early Decorations
When outsiders learn that Filipino Christmas begins in September, they sometimes assume it’s mere commercialism or holiday inflation. But spend time in the Philippines during the BER months, and you’ll discover something more profound. The extended season isn’t about maximizing shopping days or competing for “earliest Christmas decorations” bragging rights.
Instead, it reflects a culture that takes Christmas’s core messages of love, family, faith, generosity, hope, so seriously that a few weeks feel insufficient to fully honour and celebrate them. It’s a culture where working abroad for years to support family is considered a noble sacrifice, where communities rally together after disasters, and where joy is chosen deliberately even when circumstances might suggest despair.
The world’s longest Christmas is ultimately an expression of the Filipino spirit: warm, welcoming, family-centred, faith-filled, and determinedly joyful. In a world that often feels rushed and fragmented, perhaps there’s something to learn from a culture that says, “This celebration is too important to hurry. Let’s take our time and do it right.”
So when September arrives, and Filipino friends start wishing you “Merry Christmas,” they’re not confused about the calendar. They’re inviting you into a celebration that values anticipation as much as arrival, preparation as much as the event itself, and relationships above all else. And really, isn’t that what Christmas should be about?
Maligayang Pasko (Merry Christmas) no matter what month it is!
Unique Cultural Festivals in December You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
While Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year’s Eve dominate December headlines, countless fascinating festivals unfold across the globe during this month, each with its own remarkable history and traditions. These lesser-known celebrations offer windows into cultures that have preserved ancient customs, created quirky modern traditions, or simply found unique ways to mark the year’s darkest days. Here are some of December’s most intriguing festivals that deserve a spot on every cultural enthusiast’s radar.
Krampusnacht: When Christmas Gets Dark (Austria & Bavaria)
5th December
Before Santa rewards good children, Krampus punishes the naughty ones. This horned, demonic creature from Alpine folklore makes his terrifying appearance on Krampusnacht, the night before St. Nicholas Day. In Austrian and Bavarian towns, young men dress as Krampus in elaborate costumes featuring carved wooden masks, real animal horns, bells, and fur. They roam streets in packs, chasing spectators with chains and birch branches.
The tradition dates back to pre-Christian times when Alpine communities held winter solstice celebrations featuring frightening masked figures meant to drive away winter’s darkness. When Christianity arrived, these pagan traditions merged with the legend of St. Nicholas, creating the dual mythology of reward and punishment.
Modern Krampuslauf (Krampus runs) have become major events, with thousands gathering to watch the spectacle. Some celebrations are family-friendly affairs, while others embrace the genuinely frightening aspects, with Krampus figures chasing, mock-kidnapping, and even lightly swatting participants. The festival has experienced a revival in recent years, particularly among younger generations reclaiming this unique cultural heritage.
Boryeong Mud Festival’s Winter Edition (South Korea)
Early December
While most people associate the Boryeong Mud Festival with its massive summer celebration, the South Korean town hosts a special winter edition in early December. Participants brave cold temperatures to immerse themselves in mineral-rich mud from the Boryeong mud flats, believed to have therapeutic and cosmetic properties.
The winter festival transforms the beach into a surreal landscape where people cover themselves in mud, participate in mud wrestling competitions, take mud baths, and slide down muddy slopes, all while temperatures hover near freezing. The contrast between the cold air and the surprisingly warm mud creates an invigorating experience.
What began in 1998 as a marketing campaign for Boryeong mud cosmetics has evolved into a celebration of wellness, fun, and Korean hospitality. The winter edition attracts fewer international tourists than its summer counterpart, offering a more intimate glimpse into Korean festival culture and the nation’s enthusiasm for unique wellness experiences.
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Mexico)
12th December
While many people know about this feast day, few understand the extraordinary scope of the celebration at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, which becomes one of the world’s largest religious gatherings. Millions of pilgrims converge on the site, many walking for days or even weeks from distant regions.
The most striking aspect is the tradition of pilgrims arriving on their knees, some crawling the final kilometres to the basilica as an act of devotion and penance. Indigenous dancers in elaborate pre-Columbian costumes perform continuously outside the basilica, blending Catholic and indigenous Mexican traditions in a vibrant display of syncretic faith.
The celebration commemorates the apparition of the Virgin Mary to indigenous peasant Juan Diego in 1531. The image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, with her brown skin and indigenous features, became a powerful symbol of Mexican identity, bridging indigenous and Spanish colonial cultures. The 12th December festivities reflect this unique cultural fusion, featuring Aztec dances, Spanish hymns, mariachi masses, and offerings of roses and traditional foods.
Monkey Buffet Festival (Thailand)
Last Sunday of November
While technically sometimes falling in late November, this festival deserves mention for its sheer peculiarity. In the town of Lopburi, north of Bangkok, locals prepare an enormous feast exclusively for the town’s population of macaque monkeys. We’re not talking about a few bananas. The organisers lay out over two tons of fruits, vegetables, and treats arranged in elaborate displays.
The tradition stems from the Hindu epic Ramayana, specifically honouring Hanuman, the monkey god who helped rescue Sita. Lopburi’s ruined temples are believed to be Hanuman’s kingdom, and the resident monkeys are considered his descendants. The festival expresses gratitude to the monkeys, who are believed to bring good fortune, and boosts tourism in this historic but often-overlooked town.
Hundreds of macaques descend on the buffet, creating chaotic scenes of simian celebration. The monkeys eat, fight over choice morsels, and generally create mayhem while locals and tourists watch from a respectful distance. It’s a reminder that not all festivals are for humans alone and that relationships between people and animals can take remarkably diverse cultural forms.
Las Posadas (Mexico and Central America)
16th to 24th December
This nine-night celebration reenacts Mary and Joseph’s search for lodging in Bethlehem, but the tradition goes far deeper than a simple nativity play. Each evening, participants carrying candles and images of Mary and Joseph process through neighbourhoods, singing traditional songs as they request shelter at designated homes.
The pilgrims are initially refused at several houses, with residents singing responses denying them entry. Finally, at the predetermined host home, they’re welcomed inside with great celebration. The evening continues with prayers, piñata-breaking for children, and sharing traditional foods like tamales, ponche (fruit punch), and buñuelos (fried pastries).
What makes Las Posadas particularly fascinating is how it transforms entire communities into participants in a sacred narrative. The tradition creates a lived experience of rejection and hospitality, powerfully conveying Christmas’s themes of compassion for travellers and strangers. Different neighbourhoods compete to host the most beautiful posada, with elaborate decorations, creative processions, and generous hospitality.
The piñata itself carries symbolic meaning: traditionally star-shaped with seven points representing the seven deadly sins, it’s filled with sweets representing God’s blessings. Blindfolded participants use faith to strike and break the piñata, releasing goodness into the world.
Soyal (Hopi Tribe, Arizona, USA)
December (dates vary)
The Hopi people celebrate Soyal, their winter solstice ceremony, in the underground chambers called kivas. This ceremony marks the sun’s symbolic rebirth and involves rituals passed down through generations, many of which remain private to protect their sacred nature.
What can be shared is that Soyal lasts sixteen days and includes prayer, song, and the creation of prayer sticks (pahos) that are offered at sacred sites. The ceremony welcomes kachinas (spiritual beings) back to the Hopi mesas for the season. Community members receive blessings, and there’s a particular focus on bringing the community together in spiritual renewal as the days begin lengthening again.
The Hopi approach to winter solstice emphasizes humanity’s relationship with natural cycles and cosmic order. Rather than a festival of excess or celebration, Soyal is deeply contemplative, focused on maintaining the world’s balance through proper ritual observance. It’s a profound reminder that December’s darkness has inspired spiritual responses across cultures for millennia.
Giant Lantern Festival (Philippines)
Saturday before Christmas Eve
In the city of San Fernando, Pampanga, known as the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines,” December culminates in a spectacular competition of giant parol (Christmas lanterns). These aren’t your typical decorations—they’re engineering marvels up to 20 feet in diameter, featuring thousands of synchronized LED lights creating kaleidoscopic patterns.
Eleven barangays (districts) compete annually, with each community spending months designing and constructing their lantern. The complexity has escalated dramatically over the decades. What began as simple paper-and-bamboo lanterns illuminated by candles has evolved into sophisticated displays programmed with computer-controlled lighting systems, all while maintaining the traditional star shape.
The festival takes place at the Robinsons Starmills Pampanga, where crowds gather to watch the lanterns compete through a synchronized light show set to music. The atmosphere combines religious reverence, community pride, and technological showmanship. Judges evaluate creativity, synchronization, design, and craftsmanship.
What makes this festival particularly special is how it represents the Filipino approach to Christmas: deeply religious yet joyously celebratory, honouring tradition while embracing innovation, and turning what could be a simple decoration into an expression of community identity and artistic ambition.
Gävle Goat Watch (Sweden)
1st to 31st December
Since 1966, the Swedish city of Gävle has erected a massive straw goat (Gävlebocken) in the town square for Christmas. Standing over 40 feet tall, the Yule Goat represents an ancient Scandinavian tradition. But what makes this festival truly unique isn’t the goat itself. It’s the annual battle to prevent it from being burned down.
The Gävle Goat has been destroyed by arsonists 38 times since its inception, despite increasingly elaborate security measures including fireproofing chemicals, guards, surveillance cameras, and fences. The attempts to burn the goat have become so notorious that international media covers whether the goat survives each year.
Locals are divided: some see the arson as vandalism, while others view it as an unofficial tradition adding excitement to the holidays. The goat has survived being attacked by a helicopter, flaming arrows, and determined arsonists disguised as Santa Claus and gingerbread men. When the goat survives until after New Year’s, it’s considered a victory.
This peculiar tradition reveals something fascinating about Swedish culture: a tension between order and mischief, tradition and rebellion, all playing out through the fate of a giant straw goat. It’s become a symbol of Gävle itself, drawing tourists who want to see whether this year’s goat will make it.
Dongzhi Festival (China, Taiwan, and East Asian Communities)
Around 21st to 22nd December
The Dongzhi Festival, or Winter Solstice Festival, is one of the most important celebrations in Chinese culture, yet it remains relatively unknown in the West. Families gather to make and eat tangyuan, sweet glutinous rice balls served in ginger soup or sweet syrup.
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The festival’s significance goes beyond the meal. Eating tangyuan marks becoming a year older in traditional Chinese age counting. The round shape symbolizes reunion and completeness, and sharing them together represents family unity. Different regions have variations: southern China prefers sweet tangyuan with sesame or peanut filling, while northern regions may prepare savoury versions.
Dongzhi also involves ancestor worship, with families visiting graves and making offerings. In Taiwan, many people prepare nine-layer cakes as offerings. The festival philosophy centres on the balance of yin and yang—winter solstice represents the peak of yin (darkness), after which yang (light) gradually increases.
The festival creates a contemplative moment amidst December’s often frantic energy in Western contexts. Instead of emphasizing gifts or elaborate celebrations, Dongzhi focuses on family togetherness, generational continuity, and acknowledging the natural world’s rhythms.
Junkanoo (Bahamas)
26th December and 1st January-
In the hours after midnight on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, the Bahamas explodes with colour, rhythm, and energy as Junkanoo parades take over the streets of Nassau and other islands. Groups compete wearing elaborate costumes adorned with crepe paper, cardboard, and paint, all while performing choreographed dances to the driving rhythm of cowbells, drums, and brass instruments.
The tradition’s origins are disputed, possibly deriving from West African celebrations or named after the colonial-era practice of giving enslaved people a few days off around Christmas, during which they celebrated their heritage. Today’s Junkanoo is a powerful expression of Bahamian identity, creativity, and resilience.
Preparation consumes months, with groups building massive costume pieces in secret “shacks,” guarding their designs from competitors. Themes might address social issues, historical events, or pure fantasy. The competition is fierce, with groups judged on costume, music, and overall presentation.
What sets Junkanoo apart from other Caribbean carnivals is its timing, celebrating in December’s darkness rather than spring, and its distinctly Bahamian character. The cowbell-driven “rush” rhythm is instantly recognizable, and the event showcases how African cultural traditions have evolved uniquely in the Bahamian context over centuries.
Celebrating the Unknown
These festivals remind us that December’s cultural landscape extends far beyond the celebrations we typically see in mainstream media. Each represents a community’s unique response to this time of year, whether marking religious events, natural phenomena, historical memories, or simply creating moments of joy during dark days.
What unites these diverse celebrations is their ability to bring communities together, preserve cultural memory, and create meaning through shared ritual. They demonstrate that culture isn’t static but continuously evolving, as new traditions emerge and old ones transform while maintaining their essential spirit.
For travellers and cultural enthusiasts, these lesser-known festivals offer opportunities for authentic cultural exchange and genuine discovery. They’re windows into worldviews different from our own, invitations to understand how other communities create meaning, connection, and celebration.
So as you navigate your own December traditions this year, remember that somewhere, people are crafting giant lanterns, preparing feasts for monkeys, protecting straw goats from arsonists, or welcoming spirit beings into underground chambers. December’s true magic might lie not in any single celebration but in the glorious diversity of ways humans mark this special time of year.
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