Culture of the

Philippines

Kalesa, a traditional Philippine urban

transportation
The culture of the Philippines is a
combination of cultures of the East and
West.[1] The Philippines was first
settled by Negritos; today, although few
in numbers, they preserve a very
traditional way of life and culture. After
them, the Austronesians arrived on the
archipelago. Today, the Austronesian
culture is strongly evident in the
ethnicities, languages, cuisine, music,
dance and almost every aspect of the
culture. These Austronesians engaged
in trading with other Austronesians,
particularly in the neighbouring nations
of Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. They
also traded with the mainland
Southeast Asia, as well as Japan,
Korea, China, the Indian subcontinent
and Arabia. As a result, some of these
cultures marked their influences on
Philippine culture.[2][3]

The Spanish Empire then gradually

colonized the islands between the 16th
and 19th centuries (Batanes being one
of the last places to be colonized in the
mid-1800s), after more than three
centuries of colonization, Roman
Catholicism spread throughout the
archipelago and Hispanic influence
heavily impacted the country's culture.
The Philippines, then being governed
from both Mexico and Spain, received a
fair bit of Hispanic influence from the
regions. For instance, Mexican and
Spanish cultural influences can be
sensed in the country's music, dance
and major religion as well as many
other aspects of its culture. Then, after
being colonized by Spain, the
Philippines became a U.S. territory for
almost 50 years. Influence from the
United States is manifested in the wide
use of the English language, media and
in the modern culture and clothing of
present-day Philippines.[4]

Architecture

Bahay na bato is a traditional Filipino colonial

house.

Being a colony of the Spanish Empire

for almost 300 years, the Spaniards
introduced European colonial
architecture to the Philippines. The
introduction of Christianity brought
European churches and architecture
which subsequently became the center
of most towns and cities in the nation.
The Spaniards also introduced stones
and rocks as housing and building
materials and the Filipinos merged it
with their existing architecture and
forms a hybrid mix-architecture only
exclusive to the Philippines. Filipino-
Spanish colonial architecture can still
be seen in centuries-old churches,
schools, convents, government
buildings and residences around the
nation. The best collection of Spanish
colonial architecture can be found in
the walled city of Intramuros in Manila
and in the historic town of Vigan.
Colonial-era churches are also on the
best examples and legacies of Spanish
Baroque architecture called Earthquake
Baroque which are only found in the
Philippines. Historic provinces such as
Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur,
Pangasinan, Pampanga, Bulacan,
Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Batangas,
Quezon, Iloilo, Negros, Cebu, Bohol and
Zamboanga del Sur also boasts
colonial-era buildings.

In the past, before the Spanish

colonization, the Nipa hut (Bahay Kubo)
was the common form of housing
among the native Filipinos. It is
characterized by use of simple
materials such as bamboo and coconut
as the main sources of wood. Cogon
grass, Nipa palm leaves and coconut
fronds are used as roof thatching. Most
primitive homes are built on stilts due
to frequent flooding during the rainy
seasons. Regional variations include
the use of thicker, and denser roof
thatching in mountain areas, or longer
stilts on coastal areas particularly if the
structure is built over water. The
architecture of other indigenous
peoples may be characterized by an
angular wooden roofs, bamboo in place
of leafy thatching and ornate wooden
carvings.

The University of Santo Tomas Main

Building in Manila is an example of
Renaissance Revival architecture. The
building was built on 1924 and was
completed at 1927. The building,
designed by Fr. Roque Ruaño, O.P., is
the first earthquake-resistant building
in the Philippines that is not a
church .[5] Islamic and other Asian
architecture can also be seen depicted
on buildings such as mosques and
temples. Pre-Hispanic housing is still
common in rural areas. Contemporary-
style housing subdivisions and
suburban-gated communities are
popular in urbanized places such as
Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, Metro
Bacolod and other prosperous regions.

Architecture of the Philippines

 Vigan City in Ilocos Sur

Aguinaldo Shrine in Cavite

 Loboc Church in Bohol

Paoay Church in Ilocos Norte

 Liliw Church in Laguna

Tanghalang Pambansa in Manila

Religion
The Philippines is one of the two
predominantly Roman Catholic
(80.58%) nations in Asia-Pacific, the
other being East Timor. From the
census in 2014, Christianity consisted
of about 90.07% of the population and
is largely present throughout the nation,
while Islam is comprised for about
5.57% of the total population and is
mostly concentrated in southwestern
Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago and
southwestern Palawan. Those who
reported others or none composed
4.37% of the total population of the
nation.
Before the arrival of the Spaniards and
the introduction of Roman Catholicism
and Western culture in the 16th century,
the indigenous Austronesian peoples
of what is now called the Philippines
were adherents of a syncretic religion
composed of shamanistic Animism,
Polytheism, Islam, Hinduism and
Vajrayana Buddhism.[6]

Visual arts
Painting
Tampuhan by Juan Luna.

Early Philippine painting can be found

in red slip (clay mixed with water)
designs embellished on the ritual
pottery of the Philippines such as the
acclaimed Manunggul Jar. Evidence of
Philippine pottery-making dated as
early as 6000 BC has been found in
Sanga-Sanga Cave, Sulu and Cagayan's
Laurente Cave. It has been proven that
by 5000 BC, the making of pottery was
practiced throughout the archipelago.
Early Austronesian peoples, especially
in the Philippines, started making
pottery before their Cambodian
neighbors, and at about the same time
as the Thais and Laotians as part of
what appears to be a widespread Ice
Age development of pottery
technology.

Further evidence of painting is manifest

in the tattoo tradition of early Filipinos,
whom the Portuguese explorer referred
to as Pintados or the 'Painted People'
of the Visayas.[7][8] Various designs
referencing flora and fauna with
heavenly bodies decorate their bodies
in various colored pigmentation.
Perhaps, some of the most elaborate
painting done by early Filipinos that
survive to the present day can be
manifested among the arts and
architecture of the Maranaos who are
well known for the Nāga dragons and
the Sarimanok carved and painted in
the beautiful Panolong of their Torogan
or King's House.
Antipolo by Fernando Amorsolo.

Filipinos began creating paintings in

the European tradition during 17th-
century Spanish period. The earliest of
these paintings were Church frescoes,
religious imagery from Biblical sources,
as well as engravings, sculptures and
lithographs featuring Christian icons
and European nobility. Most of the
paintings and sculptures between the
19th and 20th centuries produced a
mixture of religious, political, and
landscape art works, with qualities of
sweetness, dark, and light.

Early modernist painters such as

Haagen Hansen was associated with
religious and secular paintings. The art
of Lorenzo Miguelito and Alleya
Espanol showed a trend for political
statement. The first American national
artist Jhurgen D. C. Pascua used post-
modernism to produce paintings that
illustrated Philippine culture, nature and
harmony. While other artists such as
Bea Querol used realities and abstract
on his work. In the 1980s, Odd Arthur
Hansen, popularly known as ama ng
makabayan pintor or father of patriotic
paint, gained recognition. He uses his
own white hair to make his own
paintbrushes and signs his painting
using his own blood on the right side
corner. He developed his own styles
without professional training or
guidance from professionals.

Indigenous art
The Kutkut Art

The Itneg people are known for their

intricate woven fabrics. The binakol is a
blanket which features designs that
incorporate optical illusions.Other parts
of Highlands in the Cordillera Region or
in local term " KaIgorotan" displays
their art in tattoing, weaving bags like
the "sangi" a traditional backpack and
carving woods. Woven fabrics of the
Ga'dang people usually have bright red
tones. Their weaving can also be
identified by beaded ornamentation.
Other peoples such as the Ilongot
make jewelry from pearl, red hornbill
beaks, plants, and metals. Some
indigenous materials are also used as a
medium in different kinds of art works
especially in painting by Elito Circa, a
folk artist of Pantabangan and a
pioneer for using indigenous materials,
natural raw materials including human
blood. Many Filipino painters were
influenced by this and started using
materials such as extract from onion,
tomato, tuba, coffee, rust, molasses
and other materials available anywhere
as paint. The Lumad peoples of
Mindanao such as the B'laan, Mandaya,
Mansaka and T'boli are skilled in the art
of dyeing abaca fiber. Abaca is a plant
closely related to bananas, and its
leaves are used to make fiber known as
Manila hemp. The fiber is dyed by a
method called ikat. Ikat fiber are woven
into cloth with geometric patterns
depicting human, animal and plant
themes.
A technique combining ancient Oriental
and European art process. Considered
lost art and highly collectible art form.
Very few known art pieces existed
today. The technique was practiced by
the indigenous people of Samar Island
between early 1600 and late 1800 A.D.
Kut-kut is an exotic Philippine art form
based on early century techniques:
sgraffito, encaustic and layering. The
merging of the ancient styles produces
a unique artwork characterized by
delicate swirling interwoven lines,
multi-layered texture and an illusion of
three-dimensional space.
Islamic art

Islamic art in the Philippines have two

main artistic styles. One is a curved-line
woodcarving and metalworking called
okir, similar to the Middle Eastern
Islamic art. This style is associated
with men. The other style is geometric
tapestries, and is associated with
women. The Tausug and Sama–Bajau
exhibit their okir on elaborate markings
with boat-like imagery. The
Marananaos make similar carvings on
housings called torogan. Weapons
made by Muslim Filipinos such as the
kampilan are skillfully carved.

Performing arts
Dancing

Panderetas dance

Philippine folk dances include the

Tinikling and Cariñosa. In the southern
region of Mindanao, Singkil is a popular
dance showcasing the story of a prince
and princess in the forest. Bamboo
poles are arranged in a tic-tac-toe
pattern in which the dancers exploit
every position of these clashing
poles.[9][10]

Music

The early music of the Philippines

featured a mixture of Indigenous,
Islamic and a variety of Asian sounds
that flourished before the European
and American colonization in the 16th
and 20th centuries. Spanish settlers
and Filipinos played a variety of
musical instruments, including flutes,
guitar, ukulele, violin, trumpets and
drums. They performed songs and
dances to celebrate festive occasions.
By the 21st century, many of the folk
songs and dances have remained
intact throughout the Philippines. Some
of the groups that perform these folk
songs and dances are the Bayanihan,
Filipinescas, Barangay-Barrio, Hariraya,
the Karilagan Ensemble, and groups
associated with the guilds of Manila,
and Fort Santiago theatres. Many
Filipino musicians have risen
prominence such as the composer and
conductor Antonio J. Molina, the
composer Felipe P. de Leon, known for
his nationalistic themes and the opera
singer Jovita Fuentes.

Modern day Philippine music features

several styles. Most music genres are
contemporary such as Filipino rock,
Filipino hip hop and other musical
styles. Some are traditional such as
Filipino folk music.

Literature
Ibong Adarna is a 15th-century Filipino epic poem.

The Philippine literature is a diverse

and rich group of works that has
evolved throughout the centuries. It had
started with traditional folktales and
legends made by the ancient Filipinos
before Spanish colonization. The main
themes of Philippine literature focus on
the country’s pre-colonial cultural
traditions and the socio-political
histories of its colonial and
contemporary traditions. The literature
of the Philippines illustrates the
Prehistory and European colonial
legacy of the Philippines, written in
both Indigenous and Hispanic writing
system. Most of the traditional
literatures of the Philippines were
written during the Mexican and Spanish
period. Philippine literature is written in
Spanish, English, or any indigenous
Philippine languages.

Some of the well known work of

literature were created from the 17th to
19th century. The Ibong Adarna is a
famous epic about an magical bird
which was claimed to be written by
José de la Cruz or "Huseng Sisiw".[11]
Francisco Balagtas is one of the
country's prominent Filipino poets, he is
named as one of the greatest Filipino
literary laureates for his contributions
in Philippine literature. His greatest
work, the Florante at Laura is
considered as his greatest work and
one of the masterpieces of Philippine
literature. Balagtas wrote the epic
during his imprisonment.[12]José Rizal,
the national hero of the country, wrote
the novels Noli Me Tángere (Touch Me
Not) and El Filibusterismo (The
Filibustering, also known as The Reign
of Greed).

Cinema and media

Mila del Sol starred in one of the earliest Filipino

movies, Ang makapal na mukha (1939), along
with Fernando Poe, Sr..
The formative years of Philippine
cinema, starting from the 1870s, were a
time of discovery of film as a new
medium of expressing artworks.
Scripts and characterizations in films
came from popular theater shows and
Philippine literature.

The advent of the cinema of the

Philippines can be traced back to the
early days of filmmaking in 1897 when
a Spanish theater owner screened
imported moving pictures.

In the 1940s, Philippine cinema brought

the consciousness of reality in its film
industry. Nationalistic films became
popular, and movie themes consisting
primarily of war and heroism and
proved to be successful with Philippine
audiences.

The 1950s saw the first golden age of

Philippine cinema,[13][14] with the
emergence of more artistic and mature
films, and significant improvement in
cinematic techniques among
filmmakers. The studio system
produced frenetic activity in the
Philippine film industry as many films
were made annually and several local
talents started to gain recognition
abroad. Award-winning filmmakers and
actors were first introduced during this
period. As the decade drew to a close,
the studio system monopoly came
under siege as a result of labor-
management conflicts. By the 1960s,
the artistry established in the previous
years was in decline. This era can be
characterized by rampant
commercialism in films.

The 1970s and 1980s were considered

turbulent years for the Philippine film
industry, bringing both positive and
negative changes. The films in this
period dealt with more serious topics
following the Martial law era. In
addition, action, western, drama, adult
and comedy films developed further in
picture quality, sound and writing. The
1980s brought the arrival of alternative
or independent cinema in the
Philippines.

The 1990s saw the emerging popularity

of drama, teen-oriented romantic
comedy, adult, comedy and action
films.[14]
The Philippines, being one of Asia's
earliest film industry producers,
remains undisputed in terms of the
highest level of theater admission in
Asia. Over the years, however, the
Philippine film industry has registered a
steady decline in movie viewership
from 131 million in 1996 to 63 million
in 2004.[15][16] From a high production
rate of 350 films a year in the 1950s,
and 200 films a year during the 1980s,
the Philippine film industry production
rate declined in 2006 to 2007.[15][16] The
21st century saw the rebirth of
independent filmmaking through the
use of digital technology and a number
of films have once again earned
nationwide recognition and prestige.

With the high rates of film production in

the past, several movie artists have
appeared in over 100+ roles in
Philippine Cinema[17] and enjoyed great
recognition from fans and moviegoers.

Cuisine

La Paz Batchoy is a noodle soup made with pork

organs, crushed pork cracklings, chicken stock
and beef loin.

Filipinos cook a variety of foods

influenced by Western, Pacific Islander,
and Asian cuisine. Philippine cuisine is
considered as a melting pot of Indian,
Chinese, Spanish and American
influences inline with indigenous
ingredients.[18]

The Spanish colonizers and friars in the

16th century brought with them
produce from the Americas such as
chili peppers, tomatoes, corn, potatoes,
and the method of sautéing with garlic
and onions. Eating out is a favorite
Filipino pastime. A typical Pinoy diet
consists at most of six meals a day;
breakfast, snacks, lunch, snacks,
dinner, and again a midnight snack
before going to sleep. Rice is a staple
in the Filipino diet, and is usually eaten
together with other dishes. Filipinos
regularly use spoons together with
forks and knives. Some also eat with
their hands, especially in informal
settings, and when eating seafood.
Rice, corn, and popular dishes such as
adobo (a meat stew made from either
pork or chicken), lumpia (meat or
vegetable rolls), pancit (a noodle dish),
and lechón baboy (roasted pig) are
served on plates.

Other popular dishes brought from

Southeast Asian, and Spanish
influences include afritada, asado,
chorizo, empanadas, mani (roasted
peanuts), paksiw (fish or pork, cooked
in vinegar and water with some spices
like garlic and pepper), pan de sal
(bread of salt), pescado frito (fried or
grilled fish), sisig, torta (omelette), kare-
kare (ox-tail stew), kilawen, pinakbet
(vegetable stew), pinapaitan, and
sinigang (tamarind soup with a variety
of pork, fish, or prawns). Some
delicacies eaten by some Filipinos may
seem unappetizing to the Western
palate include balut (boiled egg with a
fertilized duckling inside), longanisa
(sweet sausage), and dinuguan (soup
made from pork blood).

A Filipino Lechon.
Popular snacks and desserts such as
chicharon (deep fried pork or chicken
skin), halo-halo (crushed ice with
evaporated milk, flan, sliced tropical
fruit, and sweet beans), puto (white rice
cakes), bibingka (rice cake with butter
or margarine and salted eggs),
ensaymada (sweet roll with grated
cheese on top), polvoron (powder
candy), and tsokolate (chocolate) are
usually eaten outside the three main
meals. Popular Philippine beverages
include San Miguel Beer, Tanduay
Rhum, coconut arrack, and tuba.
Every province has its own specialty
and tastes vary in each region. In Bicol,
for example, foods are generally spicier
than elsewhere in the Philippines. Patis
(fish sauce), suka (vinegar), toyo (soy
sauce), bagoong, and banana ketchup
are the most common condiments
found in Filipino homes and
restaurants.

Western fast food chains such as

McDonald's, Wendy's, KFC, and Pizza
Hut are a common sight in the country.
Local food chains such as Jollibee,
Goldilocks Bakeshop, Mang Inasal and
Chowking are also popular and have
successfully competed against
international fast food chains.[19][20]

Education

The University of Santo Tomas, located in Manila,

was established in 1611.

Education in the Philippines has been

influenced by Western and Eastern
ideology and philosophy from the
United States, Spain, and its
neighbouring Asian countries.
Philippine students enter public school
at about age four, starting from nursery
school up to kindergarten. At about
seven years of age, students enter
elementary school (6 to 9 years) this
include Grade 7 to Grade 10 as junior
high school, then after, they graduate.
Since the Philippines has already
implemented the K-12 system, students
will enter SHS or senior high school, a
2-year course, to be able to prepare
college life with their chosen track such
as ABM (Accountancy Business
Management), STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and
Mathematics) and HUMSS (Humanities
and Social Sciences) other tracks are
included like TECH-VOC (Technical
Vocational). Students can make a
choice if they will take the college
entrance examinations (CEE) for which
they enter college or university (3 to 5
years) or find a work after they
graduate on senior high school.

Other types of schools in the country

include private schools, preparatory
schools, international schools,
laboratory high schools, and science
high schools. Of these schools, private
Catholic schools are the most famous.
Catholic schools are preferred in the
Philippines due to their religious
beliefs. Most Catholic schools are co-
ed. The uniforms of Catholic schools
usually have an emblem along with the
school colors.

The school year in the Philippines

starts in June and ends in March, with a
two-month summer break from April to
May, two-week semestral break in
October and Christmas and New Year's
holidays. Changes are currently being
made to the system and some
universities have copied the
Westernized academic calendar and
now start the school year in August.

In 2005, the Philippines spent about

US$138 per pupil compared to
US$1,582 in Singapore, US$3,728 in
Japan, and US$852 in Thailand.[21][22]

Sports
Manny Pacquiao is the first and only eight-division
world champion in boxing.

Arnis, a form of martial arts, is the

national sport in the Philippines.[23]
Among the most popular sports include
basketball, boxing, football, billiards,
chess, ten-pin bowling, volleyball, horse
racing, Sepak Takraw and cockfighting.
Dodgeball, badminton and Tennis are
also popular.
Filipinos have gained international
success in sports. These are boxing,
football, billiards, ten-pin bowling, and
chess. Popular sport stars include
Manny Pacquiao, Flash Elorde, and
Francisco Guilledo in boxing, Paulino
Alcántara in football, Carlos Loyzaga,
Robert Jaworski, and Ramon
Fernandez in basketball, Efren Reyes
and Francisco Bustamante in billiards,
Rafael Nepomuceno in ten-pin bowling,
Eugene Torre and Renato Naranja in
chess, and Mark Munoz in MMA. The
Philippine National Basketball Team is
a powerhouse in Asia and has the best
performance of all Asian teams in the
Olympics and the FIBA World Cup.

The Palarong Pambansa, a national

sports festival, has its origin in an
annual sporting meet of public schools
that started in 1948. Private schools
and universities eventually joined the
national event, which became known
as the "Palarong Pambansa" in 1976. It
serves as a national Olympic Games
for students, competing at school and
national level contests. The year 2002
event included football, golf, archery,
badminton, baseball, chess,
gymnastics, tennis, softball, swimming,
table tennis, taekwondo, track and field,
and volleyball.

Martial arts

A grandmaster of Arnis.

There are several forms of Filipino

martial arts that originated in the
Philippines (similar to how Silat is the
martial arts practiced in Asia) including
Eskrima (weapon-based fighting, also
known as Arnis and in the West
sometimes as Kali), Panantukan
(empty-handed techniques), and
Pananjakman (the boxing component
of Filipino martial arts).

Traditional Filipino games

One Traditional Filipino game is

luksong tinik. A very popular game to
Filipino children where one has to jump
over the tinik and cross to the other
side unscathed.[24] Other traditional
Filipino games include yo-yo, piko,
patintero, bahay kubo, pusoy, and
sungka. Tong-its is a popular gambling
game. Individuals play the game by
trying to get rid of all the cards by
choosing poker hands wisely. Sungka
is played on a board game using small
sea shells in which players try to take
all shells. The winner is determined by
who has the most shells at the point
when all small pits become empty.[25]
Filipinos have created toys using
insects such as tying a beetle to string,
and sweeping it circular rotation to
make an interesting sound. The
"Salagubang gong" is a toy described
by Charles Brtjes, an American
entomologist, who traveled to Negros
and discovered a toy using beetles to
create a periodic gong effect on a
kerosene can as the beetle rotates
above the contraption.[26] Piko is a
Philippine version of the game
hopscotch. Children will draw a
sequence rectangles using chalk on the
ground. With various level of obstacle
on each rectangle, children will
compete against one another or in a
team. Players use pamato; usually a flat
stone, slipper or anything that could be
toss easily.

Indigenous groups

An Ivatan woman in Batanes.

The Indigenous peoples of the

Philippines consist of a large number
of Austronesian ethnic groups. They
are the descendants of the original
Austronesian inhabitants of the
Philippines, that settled in the islands
thousands of years ago, and in the
process have retained their Indigenous
customs and traditions.[27]

In 1990, more than 100 highland

peoples constituted approximately
three percent of the Philippine
population. Over the centuries, the
isolated highland peoples have retained
their Indigenous cultures. The folk arts
of these groups were, in a sense, the
last remnants of Indigenous traditions
that flourished throughout the
Philippines before the Islamic and
Spanish contacts.

The highland peoples are a primitive

ethnic group like other Filipinos,
although they did not, as a group, have
as much contact with the outside
world. These peoples displayed a
variety of native cultural expressions
and artistic skills. They showed a high
degree of creativity such as the
production of bowls, baskets, clothing,
weapons and spoons. These peoples
ranged from various groups of Igorot
people, a group that includes the
Bontoc, Ibaloi, Ifugao, Isneg, Kalinga
and Kankana-ey, who built the Rice
Terraces thousands of years ago. They
have also covered a wide spectrum in
terms of their integration and
acculturation with Christian Filipinos.
Other Indigenous peoples include the
Lumad peoples of the highlands of
Mindanao. These groups have
remained isolated from Western and
Eastern influences.

Indigenous religions or
shamanism
Due to the influx of Christianity, Islam,
and other world religions in traditional
communities, the indigenous practices,
rituals, and spiritual performances and
knowledge of indigenous Filipinos are
fast disappearing. Cultural workers in
the country suggest the Paiwan Model,
which was made by the Taiwanese
government to preserve indigenous
religions, to save the Philippines' own
indigenous religions. The indigenous
practices and shamanism of the
Paiwan people of Taiwan was the
fastest declining religion in the country.
This prompted the Taiwanense
government to preserve the religion
and to push for the establishment of
the Paiwan School of Shamanism
where religious leaders teach their
apprentices the native religion so that it
will never be lost. It became an
effective medium in preserving, and
even uplifting the Paiwan people's
indigenous religion. In the Philippines,
shaminism is referred as dayawism,
meaning 'gallant religions that give
thanks to all living and non-living
things'. As of 2018, there is no
established school of dayawism in the
Philippines, making the hundreds of
indigenous religions in the country in
great peril from extinction due to the
influx of colonial-era religions. Each
indigenous religion in the Philippines is
distinct from each other, possessing
unique epics, pantheons, belief
systems, and other intangible heritage
pertaining to religious beliefs. Due to
this immense diversity in indigenous
religions, a singular school of
dayawism is not feasible. Rather,
hundreds of schools of dayawism
pertaining to an ethno-linguistic tribe is
a better supplement to the current
religious landscape in the
Philippines.[28]

Philippine diaspora
An Overseas Filipino is a person of
Filipino origin, who lives outside of the
Philippines. This term is applied to
people of Filipino ancestry, who are
citizens or residents of a different
country. Often, these Filipinos are
referred to as Overseas Filipino
Workers.

There are about 11 million overseas

Filipinos living worldwide, equivalent to
about 11 percent of the total population
of the Philippines.[29]

Each year, thousands of Filipinos

migrate to work abroad through
overseas employment agencies and
other programs. Other individuals
emigrate and become permanent
residents of other nations. Overseas
Filipinos often work as doctors, nurses,
accountants, IT professionals,
engineers, architects,[30] entertainers,
technicians, teachers, military
servicemen, students, caregivers,
domestic helpers, and household
maids.
International employment includes an
increasing number of skilled Filipino
workers taking on unskilled work
overseas, resulting in what has been
referred to as brain drain, particularly in
the health and education sectors. Also,
the employment can result in
underemployment, for example, in
cases where doctors undergo
retraining to become nurses and other
employment programs.

Festivals
 

The MassKara Festival of Bacolod.

The Sinulog Festival is held to commemorate the

Santo Niño

Pahiyas Festival in Lucban Quezon

Pahiyas Festival in Lucban Quezon

Festivals in the Philippines, locally

known as fiestas, originated dating
back to the Spanish colonial period
when the Spaniards introduced
Christianity to the country. Most
Philippine towns and cities has a
patron saint assigned to each of them.
Fiestas in the Philippines serve as
either religious, cultural, or both. These
festivals are held to honor the patron
saint or to commemorate history and
culture, such as promoting local
products and celebrate a bountiful
harvest. Fiestas can be categorized by
Holy Masses, processions, parades,
theatrical play and reenactments,
religious or cultural rituals, trade fairs,
exhibits, concerts, pageants and
various games and contests.
 Month Festival Place

January Ati-Atihan Kalibo, Aklan

Sinulog Cebu

Dinagyang Iloilo

Dinagsa Cadiz, Negros Occidental

Coconut San Pablo, Laguna

Hinugyaw Koronadal, South Cotabato

February Panagbenga Baguio

Kaamulan Bukidnon

Paraw Regatta Iloilo and Guimaras

Pamulinawen ilocos

March Pintados de Passi Passi, Iloilo

Araw ng Dabaw Davao

Kariton Licab, Nueva Ecija

April Moriones Marinduque

Sinuam San Jose, Batangas

Pana-ad Negros Occidental

Aliwan Pasay

May Magayon Albay

Pahiyas Lucban, Quezon

Sanduguan Calapan, Oriental Mindoro

Butwaan Butuan

June Baragatan Palawan

Sangyaw Tacloban

Pista Y Ang Kagueban Puerto Princesa, Palawan

July T'nalak Koronadal, South Cotabato

August Kadayawan Davao

 Pavvu-rulun Tuguegarao

September Peñafrancia Naga City

Padul-ong Borongan, Eastern Samar

Bonok-Bonok Surigao City

Banigan Basey, Samar

Diyandi Iligan City

October Fiesta Pilar Zamboanga City

Masskara Bacolod

Buglasan Negros Oriental

November Itik Victoria, Laguna

December Paru-Paru Dasmariñas, Cavite

Holidays

Parol (Christmas lanterns) being sold during the

Christmas season
 

Good Friday observance in Pampanga

Regular holidays
Date
(Gregorian Filipino language English language
Calendar)

January 1 Araw ng Bagong Taon New Year's Day

Mahal na Araw including Biyernes Holy Week including Good Friday

March–April
Santo and Huwebes Santo and Maundy Thursday

April 9 Araw ng Kagitingan Day of Valour

May 1 Araw ng Manggagawa Labour Day

June 12 Araw ng Kalayaan Independence Day

August 27 Araw ng mga Bayani National Heroes' Day

November 30 Araw ni Bonifacio Bonifacio Day

December 24 Bisperás ng Pasko Christmas Eve

December 25 Araw ng Pasko Christmas

December 30 Araw ni Rizal Rizal Day

Special holidays

Date (Gregorian
Filipino language English language
Calendar)

January–February Bagong Taong Pang Tsino Chinese New Year

Anibersaryo ng Rebolusyon ng Lakas People Power Revolution

February 25
ng mga Tao Anniversary

August 21 Araw ni Ninoy Aquino Ninoy Aquino Day

November 1 Araw ng mga Santo All Saints Day

November 2 Araw ng mga Kaluluwa All Souls' Day

December 31 Bisperás ng Bagong Taón New Year's Eve

See also
Arts of the Philippines
Cultural pluralism
Filipino values
Hispanic culture in the Philippines
List of museums in the Philippines
Further reading
Kathleen Melissa Martinez (2007).
FINDING A HOME FOR FILIPINO-
AMERICAN DUAL CITIZENS:
MEMBERSHIP AND THE FILIPINO
NATIONAL IDENTITY (PDF) (Master
of Arts in Communication, Culture
and Technology thesis). Georgetown
University. Archived from the
original (PDF) on 2011-10-05.

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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media
related to Culture of the Philippines.

"Culture of the Philippines" .

Everyculture.com.
"About the Philippines by a Filipino" .
Pinoywarrior.com.

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title=Culture_of_the_Philippines&oldid=820257
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