Philippines is a country formed by an archipelago of 7,107 islands located in Southeast Asia. With a population of around 104.9 million (2017), this island country is rich in its own traditions and customs..
At least 90% of the population of the Philippine Islands is Christian and 10% is Muslim. Its official language is Filipino but there are also other dialects. Due to their Spanish and North American colonizing past, the Filipinos have customs and traditions that have influenced both countries..
English is taught in Philippine schools and is also widely used in businesses and public agencies, so that the population can communicate in this language, it is very common for them to use a combination of English and Filipino in their dialect.
Although its colonizers were Spanish, only a minority speak Spanish, even when it was the official language at the time..
The Filipinos declared their independence from Spain in 1898, after being colonized by the United States and later invaded by Japan. In 1946, after World War II, it finally achieved its independence.
Since its independence, the state has placed great emphasis on its national symbols to create a feeling of belonging. The doctor and writer José Rizal is the national hero of the Philippines, as he was one of the main precursors of its independence from Spain.
The Philippine eagle is also one of the most important symbols and is the second largest in the world..
The flag of the Philippines has two horizontal stripes of the same size. The top band is red and the bottom band is blue. On one of its edges it has a white triangle with a golden sun in the center and three stars in its corners..
The red stripe represents the blood and courage of those who fought for their independence, the blue stripe represents the unity of the nation and its ideals. The white triangle represents peace, the sun represents the awakening of a new stage that began with the independence of the Philippines and the three stars symbolize the three most important geographical areas: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao..
Filipino traditions and customs are local in nature, enriched with the influence of Spain, the United States, Malaysia, China, and Japan..
Like the movement of water, this festival is the most important and well-known in the Philippines, locals and visitors from all over the world gather in Cebu City to celebrate it..
It focuses on a dance with forward and backward movements to the rhythm of songs in the native language.
This dance-ritual is in honor of the baby Jesus and commemorates the acceptance of the Filipino people of Christianity. It is celebrated every year on the third Sunday of January.
Also called the flower festival, it is celebrated every year in the Philippines in the month of February.
It lasts all month and commemorates the tragic earthquake that occurred in 1990, and the floristic beauty of the Baguio region, which is where it takes place..
It is a Filipino martial art, it is also called Kali, depending on the region.
It is directly influenced by Spanish fencing. They use 70 cm long staves and close combat techniques.
It is a tradition that when a man courts a woman, he serenades him at the door of his house while everyone sleeps..
The man asks the woman to open the window to listen to the request.
In this Philippine tradition, when a couple gets engaged, the groom must go with his family to the house of the bride's family and ask for her hand in marriage..
They must bring food and wait for the blessing of the father of the bride.
The Igorot ethnic group places their dead in coffins and they hang them on the walls of the mountains..
They dress their dead in colorful clothes so that their relatives can recognize them in the other world..
On Good Friday of each year dozens of people imitate the suffering of Christ on pilgrimage, crucifying himself and dragging the heavy crosses.
This traditional sport in the Philippines resembles volleyball and soccer at the same time.
The use of both hands and feet is used. The ball should be kicked and not allowed to touch the ground. The ball is made of cane fibers.
It is a genre of traditional love songs from the Philippines.
They are written in the Tagalog dialect. The sounds are melancholic and sometimes happy.
This tradition has been celebrated every year in the town of Barangay since the 19th century..
In this ritual, the Virgin of the Roses is praised through dances practiced by nine young women in typical dresses..
Held every year in Kalibo Municipality, it is one of the most joyous and colorful festivals in the Philippines. Parades are organized where the participants dress in flashy costumes and make up their faces.
The festival is the honor of the Holy Child, whose image runs through the streets of the entire municipality during the processions.
On August 21 of each year the fall of the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and the death of Ninoy Aquino are commemorated with parades. The last was a journalist and politician who fought for the restoration of democracy in his country.
However, for his struggle he was exiled for three years and upon his return at the Manila International Airport he was assassinated by an unknown person. This event was the beginning of the end of the dictatorship.
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