6:37
TRADIOLOGY – study of traditions

PASKOLOGY – branch of tradiology that deals with Pinoy Christmas traditions backed up by observations

7:38

TOP 5 PINOY CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS

1. CAROLING
   • Officially starts every December 16
   • Kinds of caroling
     1. Formal – submits a letter to advise the homeowner of the caroling date. Carolers usually sing well and wears uniform
     2. Informal – the “biglaan” type of caroling
     3. Formal informal – both with letter and “biglaan” type of caroling (e.g. carolers in jeepneys)
   • Jello’s memory of caroling
     1. Using of “tansan” to create a tambourine
     2. Incorrect song lyrics
2. CHRISTMAS PARTY
   • Number of parties you got invited to increases as you grow older
   • Dave’s memory of Christmas Party
     1. Collecting mugs, towels and picture frames
     2. Best “porma”
     3. Reconciliation of enemies class
     4. Use of small packs of multicolored hair gel
   • Renjo’s memory of Christmas Party
     1. Post-party “gala” usually on fast food restaurants
     2. Parents always do their best to give new clothes to their children regardless of economic status
     3. Mohawk hairstyle
     4. Justin Bieber
     5. Using too much powder on face
   • Daryll’s memory of Christmas Party
     1. “Never Give Up” t-shirt
     2. Requesting “elepants” (elephant-style pants)
3. EXCHANGE GIFT
   • Renjo’s memory of exchange gift
     1. Wanting your crush to be your exchange gift partner
     2. Exchange gift with inner and outer circle
     3. Gifts with coins inside (just to complete the minimum required gift price)
   • Dave’s memory of exchange gift
     1. Wanting to get the biggest gift
     2. Exchange gift with story
     3. Buying gifts at “tiangge”
   • Jello’s memory of exchange gift
     1. Common gifts among campus missionaries are tumblers and Starbucks gift certificates
   • Common methods of gift wrapping
     1. Gift wrappers
     2. Gift bags
4. PAMAMASKO
   • Going to godparents and relatives to ask for cash as Christmas gift
   • Pamasko is usually placed inside “ang pao”
   • Amount received decreases as you grow older
   • Jello’s memory of pamamasko
     1. “Anak, itago ko muna” and “Anak, pautang muna” scam
   • Dave’s memory of pamamasko
     1. Performance first before receiving pamasko
     2. “Pabitin”
5. NOCHE BUENA
   • Christmas Eve family dinner at 12AM of Christmas Day
   • Daryll’s memory of Noche Buena
     1. A time to appreciate the blessing of having a family
   • Renjo’s memory of Noche Buena
     1. Going to the grocery together to buy food supplies for Noche Buena
   • Jello’s memory of Noche Buena
     1. A time when the best utensils kept inside the cabinet for a long time will be used
   • Dave’s memory of Noche Buena
     1. A time when the best and special dishes are on the dining table (e.g. fruit salad, lechon)
     2. A great time of fellowship with your family
     3. An opportunity to share the gospel to the family
     4. Something we must cherish and value

34:02

JELLO:

This season is a very challenging situation to celebrate Christmas because of the physical limitations, all the more for people who have been in unfortunate circumstances. How can they celebrate? I’m excited with the idea of missing these things that make us feel the Christmas season (e.g. caroling, exchange gift, etc.). This thought got me thinking, how can we still celebrate Christmas even without depending on all these things, even amidst the challenging situation we are in? This season is an opportunity to highlight the true essence of Christmas.

35:14

DAVE:

The “tunay na diwa ng Pasko” is not about traditions. It is about the event that happened. It is about the Savior being sent to us. That message – that we can celebrate in the middle of the crisis, is exactly the message of our faith which says that there is a reason to celebrate because God is in control and He came to save.

36:34

JELLO:

Although we love the traditions, it is ironic that the disappearance of these traditions robs us of the joy of Christmas. How can we celebrate Christmas when it is anchored on these things that can disappear? The lesson we can learn from our current season is that the joy and spirit of Christmas is not dependent on our experience and our feelings. We should know the fact that the joy of Christmas comes not from the traditions and not based on what we feel. The joy of Christmas should come from the truth that during the first Christmas, the reason to celebrate was already set on stone when someone came to this world to show the love of God to us.

38:33

DARYLL:

We celebrate the celebration instead of celebrating the Celebrant.

38:47

RENJO:

“Anong sama man ng PAST MO, dahil kay Jesus pwede kang mag-celebrate ng PASKO.”

39:03

DAVE:

It is a time to have a different way of celebrating Christmas. If we know the WHY and the WHO, the HOW will follow. It may look different, but the spirit is the same because the message of God did not change – which is He loves us and He came to bring us back to Him.

39:31

JELLO:

We are not cancelling traditions, we all agree that traditions add joy to our celebration of Christmas. However, we will experience its true joy when we realize where these traditions come from. Experience the joy of Christmas first hand by knowing the message and what happened on the first day of Christmas day. Let the joy of Christmas overflow in our hearts so we can also pass on this joy and hope to others.

Today on Campus is hosted by Dave Estrera and Jello de los Reyes. In this episode, the hosts are joined by Daryll Reyes and Renjo Almario.