It cannot be denied that nothing can separate us from our unique Filipino Christmas tradtion. Saan ka mang panig ng mundo, hindi maipagkakaila na sa puso ng bawa't Pilipino, miss natin ang Paskong Pinoy, ang tradisyong ating kinagisnan, ang tradisyong ating kinamulatan mula ng tayo ay musmos pa lamang, tulad ng pangka-karoling.
As far as I can remember, I have joined my neighborhood friends when I was 7 years old and formed our own group of kid carolers. And with our creative ingenuity, we equipped ourselves with makeshift instruments to include the tambourines made of pinitpit na tansan strung on a piece of wire, drums made from cans or biscuit tins as we proudly sings even out of out of tune the traditional song "Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit" from out of our lungs.
We are the group of kids from Pasay City, the "batang yagit" sporting short pants, T-shirts or sandos and rubber slippers hopping from one house to another every night, and the same houses all throughout the Yuletide Season until December 25; singing Jingle Bells, Silent Night and , Sa May Bahay". After rendering 3 or 4 songs, with traditional chant of "Namamasko Po", we wait expectantly for the homeowners to reward us with coin, ranging from 0.50 centavos to 2.00 pesos. Afterward, we thank the generous homeowners by singing "Thank you, thank you, ang babait ninyo".
We have experienced some homeowners request non-Christmas songs. There was a drunk homeowner who have asked us to sing "Lupang Hinirang" and despite the odds we sing it with pride and were awarded with 5.00 pesos, not bad at all.
There are also stingy homeowners who doesn't entertain carolers which we named "bahay patawad" and others who refused to give us coins or drive us away from their house by simply uttering the traditional words "patawad", we return them a song "Thank you, thank you, ang babarat ninyo. Thank you" and start running away from their door.
After 3 hours of caroling, I still remember the feeling of delight when my friends and I would split our “earnings” each night.
I wonder if there are any Filipinos in the Philippines that has not experienced the Christmas caroling tradition? Iniisip ko kung ang mga batang mayayaman na kasing edad ko nuon from plush subdivisions ay nagkakaroling rin.
Ikaw, naranasan mo bang mag-karoling?
"Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day" (Psalm 96:1-2)
Image snipped from flickr.com
mangangaroling ako sa inyo pope! :)
ReplyDeletethank you! thank you! ang babait ninyo thank you!
merry christmas! :)
ako po naranasan ko rin..kahit nung naghigh school na ako tapos yung ibang pinsan ko eh college na pero dun lang kami sa mga kamaganak namin at may mga kasama kaming mga bulilit..hehehe last stop namin nung ang bahay namin kasi nakahiwalay kami sa compound..tapos after that yung naipon namin pera eh ipangrerenta namin ng videoke para sa christmas eve o sa new year's eve..hehehe
ReplyDeletenaranasan ko ng mangaroling! unang beses dalawa lang kami ng pinsan ko. christmas in our hearts pa yung kinakanta namin non. sosyal. hehe. pero kagabi lang may nangaroling samin, in excelsis deo! level up na sila ngayon. nakaka-miss din ang pagkabata.
ReplyDeleteNaranasan ko rin, masaya! o",)
ReplyDeleteNaalala ko sa Manila, kahit sa jeep mayroong mga batang nangangaroling. Sana'y sa pamamagitan ng gabay ng mga magulang, nauunawaan ng LAHAT ng mga batang nangangaroling ang kahalagahan at kaugnayan ng tradisyong ito sa ating buhay.
yan ang mga namimiss ko yung ingay ng karoling ng mga bata. kaya nung umuwi ako nung chritmas ay inaabangan ko sila para makinig ng kanilang tambol na lata, tantsan na pinitpit at mga boses na wala sa nota.
ReplyDeletenaalala ko rin kasi nung bata pa kami. Ang pastko talaga ay para sa mga bata.
Noong bata ako at nangangaroling kami medyo marami kaming nararaket na pera palibhasa mga tita ko rin yun kaya siguradong may pera! Ngayon gagawin ko pa rin yan kasi wala akong pera at kailangang rumaket!hahah
ReplyDeleteingat
Ako rin batang kalye nun, kaya from Dec. 9 to 24 nangangaroling kami pero sa 24 pa namin pinaghahatian ang pera para mas malaki at ako ang treasurer hehehe. Unforgettable experience ko talaga ang mangaroling, kapag naririnig ko ang mga Christmas songs lalo lang akong nahohomesick at naaalala ko lang ang childhood days ko. Hindi mawawala talaga ang kanta na Ang Pasko ay Sumapit at We Wish you a Merry Christmas sa mga kanta namin, lalo na yun sinabi mo nga na ..."ang babarat ninyo thank you" sabay takbo hehehe......Pope ha nahohomesick na naman ako niyan huhuhu
ReplyDelete@ roanne
ReplyDeletenatuwa naman ako sa caroling chant mo hahahaha, talagang pang karoling.
Merry Christmas too.
♥superjaid♥
Wow ang ganda naman ng plan ninyo after the Caroling, the proceeds will go for a karaoke rental for Xmas or New year's eve celebration, I really admire your thoughts.
@ Badong
Ang galing naman ng nag-karoling sa inyo, pang Choral competition ata sila.
@ RJ
Innocent children are not aware of the unique christmas tradition they are participating, it's purely the sheer joy of singing and the monetary benefits gained in the caroling. But I guess this is what God really want, to show to us adults that the essence of true christmas starts with children, starts with the simplest form of giving and with patience as we try listen to the songs of praise from innocent kids.
@ Life Moto
You re correct that Xmas is for children. Twenty years ago, I worked in a project "Christmas is for Children", raising funds to buy Christmas gifts to children living in most depressed areas of Manila.
Hidi ko naranasan ang caroling nung bata pa. Our mother was over-protective kaya ayaw kaming palabasin ng bahay after 6pm. Pero napasama ako sa caroling ng mga Mason nung teenager na. Nag kakaroling kami sa mga bahay ng mga kapos-palad pero kami ang nagbibigay ng aginaldo.
ReplyDeleteWe did. My sister and I. In fact, ang kauna-unahang Christmas gift na binili namin for our parents was from our earnings in caroling: a plastic toothbrush holder (costing PHP12 which was 'costly' during late 70's).
ReplyDeleteIn fact hanggang high school nagkakaroling kami sa Antipolo. Kung hindi nga lang kami lumipat, siguro up until now, nagkakaroling pa rin kami.
Trivia: My father, in his old age, still goes caroling with his co-officers in our subdivision. Ung proceeds, ginagamit nila sa Christmas Party para sa mga bata sa lugar namin.
Thanks, George. Your post brought back lots of good memories for me.