Friday, December 30, 2016

31. FRANCIS MUSNI’S TOP 10 POPULAR FOODS THAT KAPAMPANGANS OFTEN SERVE FOR CHRISTMAS

LORD FRANCIS MUSNI  is not only a connoisseur of good Kapampangan food, but is also a self-trained culinary wiz . When not busy with his work at the Municipal Trial Court in Cities at San Fernando, Francis spends time in his newly customized, old-world style kitchen in his Bacolor home, whipping up classic Kapampangan dishes for family and friends. He hopes to open his “kusina” to visitors soon.  Francis also does consultancy work for the Center for Kapampangan Studies, and is an instructor and museum curator of Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University. He has appeared many times on local and national media as a resource person on various aspects of Kapampangan culture, especially our culinary arts. Currently, he is one of the hosts of “Umpukang Kapampangan” over RW 95.1 FM, a program dedicated to spreading Pampanga’s cultural heritage and its arts. Meanwhile, he shares with us his list of some of the most popular foods that are a part of every Kapampangan’s holiday table every year.


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1. LIGANG PASCU. A soup that is a complete meal in itself. An otherwise regular daily fare becomes a traditional Christmas special when prepared with long, simmered ham bone, beef, pork and chicken with potatoes, cabbage, saguin saba, labanus, pechay, Baguio beans, white onions, and whole pepper corns with generous slices  of sang  (onion leeks). It is a staple on noche buena and media noche that cuts across social classes; it is a great social equalizer. Every Kapampangan home, palatial or humble, has it.


2. ALE. Jam prepared at Christmas time could be gandus (white yam), copis (red monggo bean), bule (kidney beans) and the ubiquitous and color-of-the-season ubi (purple yam). The tedious process begins with harvesting, boiling, mashing and cooking the jam into a rich well-done (malaniad, manangnang).consistency with aid of a trusty heirloom kawa in makeshift earth stove dug from the ground. The best ale should keep for at least 3 days.

3. SUMAN TILI/SUMAN PASCU. This is a delicacy of steamed sticky (lacatan ) rice wrapped in young banana leaves. It used to be available only at Christmas time in the pre-commercial kakanin era. You had to make it, hire someone to do it, or specially order it from someone (by asking to share in her expenses in doing her own and a little extra). It used to be given out as an aguinaldo to family and friends who went "manyiklod" on  Christmas and New Year's Day. Outside of Christmas,  they call them suman tili becuase one had to roll them (tili) like fat cigars. Be careful in buying your lacatan lest it be samutan and you end up with a half  or unevenly cooked (magadtu) suman.

4. CALAME. This is a generic Kapampangan term for rice delicacies shaped in the form of a cake. Calame making in this busy days is a tradition on the verge of extinction. The long and arduous process of making it has discouraged many and has given birth to an industry. Calame can have several names depending on the main ingredient and the place where it comes from. It could be simply calame nasi (literally, rice cake) or it could be calame duman, ubi, culubasa (which is also called bico), patulbad and pituclup (in Sasmuan). Warning: calame, beer and firecrackers are a bad combination.

5. HAMUN. Traditionally, Kapampangans got.their hamun from the.local Chinese store. It was either Hoc Siu, King Sue.or Marca Pato. The best ham was hamon de funda (whole leg ham bone-in and neatly tied in net stocking). The burgeoning sugar industry of the rich sugar planters and landlords preferred imported Virginia ham. Now local ham is produced and is supplied by several popular homegrown meat processing industries. The Kapampangan is likely to expect ham as a Christmas gift from his boss or trading suki. Employees proudly display their hams on the way home from their last day of work or after their Christmas party. As one popular ham brand puts it, the ham is the "star of the noche buena"

6. SUCLATING BATIRUL. Kapampangans will only go for the Chocolate "e". Richly prepared from a ground paste of well roasted cacao and mani ground with a gilingan batu, boiled in a pohia or batidor with gatas damulag added in and frothed rich and creamy with a molinillo, the suclating batirul is to die for. Albeit, the southerners (Ilonggo and Cebuanos) think it is adulterated, the Kapampangan wants his chocolate with peanuts still. The chocolate goes well with duman, suman or a magapuc (brittle) cookie like sanicolas, mamon tostado (sopas) or masa podrida.

7. BARBEQUE. An American vestige that refuses to leave the Kapampangan, each household prides itself with its own homemade pibabaran (marinade). The barbeque is served as one of the viands, a pulutan and a "pipali-pali" the day after.

8. FRUIT SALAD. Another American influence that celebrates the PX tradition of the Kapanpangans. One preferred Ligo as the best brand by far unlike other cheaper commercial Philippine syndicated.brands, which consists mainly of pineapples, papaya and pineapples. Kapampangans stock up on cans.of fruit.cocktail, whipped cream and condense milk as early as October, as grocery shelves go empty by early December.

9. BIBINGCA and PUTU BUMBUNG. Very popular post-Simbang Bengi treats,

10. A BASKET OF IMPORTED  FRUITS.  Not normally purchased on ordinary days,

PHOTO SOURCES:
LIGANG PASCU: Adda Morena Canlas Musni FB page
ALE: Betty Ann Besa-Quirino, http://www.asianinamericamag.com/
SUMAN TILI: Ruston Banal FB page
CALAME: Reyjay Manago FB page
HAMUN: Robby Tantingco FB page
SUCLATING BATIRUL: Insights Magazine, http://chocolatedebatirol.com/
BARBEQUE: Ralf Laurence Bonifacio FB page
FRUIT SALAD: Guagua Pampanga Kabalenan FB page, 
FRUIT BASKET: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wrapped_fruit_basket.jpg
BIBINGCA/ PUTU BUMBUNG: Ivan Henares twitter photo

Friday, December 23, 2016

30. BETTY ANN BESA-QUIRINO’S LIST OF 18 FAVORITE KAPAMPANGAN SWEETS AND DISHES FOR THE HOLIDAYS.

A KAPLISTORIAN EXCLUSIVE! Award-winning foodie writer, Betty Ann Besa-Quirino shares with us her list of must-serve Kapampangan holiday fare. She writes: "Pampanga is a neighbor to my home province, Tarlac so a lot of the Christmas treats we enjoyed in my childhood were inspired by our neighboring Kapampangan friends and family. It is a fact, that every Pampango host ends every meal with a great dessert – these Petit Fortunes, a classic example. These gastronomic tiny treats were regular fixtures of our holidays."

PETITE FORTUNE. Tiny, bite-sized sweet pastries made of casuy nuts (cashew) eggs and butter.

BIBINGKANG NASI. Sticky rice cake made from malagkit rice, with sweet coconut cream topping. An all-time favorite kakanin!

HALEYANG UBI. For my “ube haleya” (ube jam). I buy fresh purple yams at the Asian markets when they’re in season the last months of the year from October to December. The tuber is peeled, boiled, then mashed, mixed and cooked with milk, sugar and butter. Some recipes call for mixing it with coconut cream or grated coconut meat. In all these ways ube is utterly delectable.

BOBOTU, or TAMALES. Our version of the Mexican tamales makes use of a seasoned mixture of rice flour, coconut milk, fish sauce and annatto oil. A large dollop of the tamales mixture is topped with slivers of chicken, slices of boiled egg, ground peanuts, wrapped in banana leaves then cooked in a steamer.

BIBINGKANG CAMOTENG DUTUNG. Good old fashioned cassava cake. Made with grated cassava, milk, coconut milk and cream, sugar and eggs.

PUTUNG LASUNG. The ubiquitous putong puti are steamed rice cakes that can be found in almost any pasalubong center in Pampanga. The original putung lasung makes use of ground glutinous rice, and are a perfect match with sopas, tidtad and any kind of pancit.


SUMAN INANGIT. A quick-fix kakanin simply made from from malagkit rice and coconut milk, flavored with salt. The mixture is cooked and stirred until almost dry over low heat, and covered with banana leaves to give it a nice aroma. Portions of the cooked mixture are then wrapped in banana leaves to become suman inangit!

CAPAMPANGAN ENSAIMADAS. The Capampangan Ensaimada prides itself in using NO LESS than 24 and up to 36 egg yolks. Anything less would be a major offense.

TAISAN DE PAMPANGA
A classic sponge cake loaf,  similar to mammon, but heavily buttered on top, then sprinkled with sugar, and sometimes with fine grated cheese. So-called because the slim, rectangular load often wrapped in cellophane, is shaped like a whetstone—a “taisan”.

TOCINO DEL CIELO. Small, cup-shaped Spanish flans, purely made from egg yolks, water and sugar. The creamy caramel desserts are a specialty of my late mother-n-law Remedios Pineda Quirino, who was from Sta. Rita, Pampanga

BICO CULUBASA. Sticky rice combined with squash, which gives this kakanin its trademark  light brown color.

CHICKEN GALANTINA. Chicken Galantina is a stuffed, deboned chicken dish popular during the holidays. It takes patience and time to concoct this dish, as it involves the laborious preparation of the stuffing (made from ground meat, sausage, hard-boiled eggs, spices, pickle relish, raisin, carrots,etc.), as well as the long steaming process. But the flavorful results is certain worth the wait.

KALAME DUMAN.  Duman, a fragrant green rice variety,  is only in season during Christmas, so it is prized by many Kapampangans, who often store duman in their refrigerators, to be taken out for making their special “kalame duman”, or for dunking  into a steaming hot cup of tsokolateng binatirul, until the grains bloat.

KALDERETANG KAMBING– Goat stew, a favorite entrée of my late dad; the spicier the better.

BANCA-BANCA. Boat-shaped pastry tarts in cellophane wrappers,  are always a welcome treat, some topped with whole cashew nuts, or swirls of merengue.

HALEYANG GATAS DAMULAG. Pure carabao’s milk with added sugar is cooked over low heat while stirring, until its water evaporates, and milk assumes a jam-like consistency. Favorite as pan de sal filling, or eaten by the spoonfuls as pastillas jam.

SANICULAS. Panecillos de San Nicolas, or simply saniculas, are crumbly, arrow-root based cookies that features an imprinted the saint owing to a wooden mold specially used to make these treats. Designs of heirloom molds are unique to a specific family descriptive of what their profession was. For example,  the longer, oval shaped molds belonged to the Lansang family, who dabbled in music, thus the harp carvings.

DULCE PRENDA. These pastries use the same batter of saniculas, but they are filled with sweetened kundol. Dulce Prenda are also decorated with floral imprints with the use of a wooden mold, said to replicate the ones on the Virgen de La Naval’s vestments.

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ELIZABETH ANN “Betty Anne” BESA-QUIRINO is a New Jersey-based Kapampangan from Tarlac, Tarlac. She is a two-time winner of the Plaridel Writing Awards for best in journalism, given by the Philippine-American Press Club in San Francisco, CA. Her  essay “A Hundred Mangoes In a Bottle” has won a Doreen Gamboa Fernandez Food Writing Award. She was an awardee of the FWN Filipina Women’s Network 100 Most Influential Women of the World in 2013.

A journalist, food writer and correspondent , she is also a blogger of Filipino recipes on her popular site Asian in America (www.AsianInAmericaMag.com). 

Her works have appeared  on Positively Filipino; FOOD Magazine by ABS-CBN Inc.; Rustan’s Sans Rival Magalogue; and Quirk Books Community blog (Philadelphia, PA). She has appeared on the TV network KACL- LA 18’s “Halo-Halo with Kat Iniba” which aired in California and Hawaii.She is a member of the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the Culinary Historians of the Philippines. She travels often to the Philippines and Asia in search of recipes and stories about culture and personalities.

Other works: Author,"How to Cook Philippine Desserts: Cakes and Snacks." /  Co-author,  “Statesman and Survivor Elpidio Quirino, 6th President of the Philippines. / Illustrator and publisher,  “Color and Cook Food Coloring Book” on Filipino food art. 
All books are sold on Amazon.com.

PHOTO SOURCES:
BIBINGKANG NASI: Fernando Santos FB page
BOBOTU: Alex R. Castro
DUMAN, CHICKEN GALANTINA: Robby P. Tantingco FB page
PUTU LASUNG: Samantha Mallari Bucu FB page
TOCINO DEL CIELO, MANG SALUD CAPAMPANGAN ENSAIMADA: Ivan Anthony Henares FB page
TAISAN, BIKO KULUBASA: Mrs. Emelita Galang's Kitchen FB page
KALDERETANG KAMBING: Mangan Tana!  http://kapampangankitchen.blogspot.com/
BANCA-BANCA: Pampanga Delicacies FB page
DULCE PRENDAS: The Saga of La Naval. Triumph of a People's Faith, 2007
ALL OTHERS: Photos courtesy or Betty Ann-Besa Quirino, www.AsianInAmericaMag.com

Sunday, December 18, 2016

29. 12 CHRISTMAS BELENS OF PAMPANGA CHURCHES

Every December, The whole Christendom celebrates the birth of Jesus with great joy and mirth, but nowhere is it celebrated with more pageantry than in the Philippines. Pampanga's churches, with the help of the local communities prepare by staging the Nativity Scene--or Belen-- before the altar, to be reflected upon during the dawn masses or Simbang Bengi. St. Francis of Assisi is credited with making the first nativity scene in 1223 to shift emphasis to Christ rather than gift-giving. In Pampanga, those in charge of staging the Belen take great efforts to make the tableau truly artistic. All sorts of materials go into the making of the stable--cut bamboo, old house parts, sawali, palm leaves, outlumber posts, old capiz windows. Here are a few examples:

BELEN, Church of the Most Holy Rosary Parish, ANGELES CITY

BELEN, San Guillermo Church, BACOLOR (Pix:Jerry Punzalan Sagmit)

BELEN, San Andres Parish, CANDABA. (Photo by Fr.Greg Vega, 2014)

BELEN, Immaculate Conception Church. GUAGUA.(Pix: Jerry P. Sagmit)

BELEN, Divine Grace Parish. MABALACAT. (2015 photo)

BELEN, San Bartolome Parish, MAGALANG. (Pix: Lou Aldrin L. Bartolo)

BELEN, Sta. Monica Parish, MEXICO. (Pix: Reichardt Lionel, 2010)

BELEN.Sta. Maria de Tabungao Chapel, MINALIN (Pix:Reggie S.Budoso)

BELEN. Sta. Catalina Parish. PORAC. (Pix: Jerry P. Sagmit)

BELEN.San Fernando Cathedral.SAN FERNANDO. (Pix:Msgr. Gene Reyes)

BELEN. Sta. Ana Parish. STA. ANA (Pix: Wee Licup, 2009)

BELEN. Sta. Lucia Parish. SASMUAN (Pix: Drei Sarmiento)

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

28. 10 MORE KAPAMPANGAN PLACENAMES AND THEIR ORIGIN STORIES, part 2

BALITUCAN (Magalang)
San Ildefonso is the official name of this eastern barrio of Magalang, founded in 1868. Locals though, prefer calling it by its more popular, delicious-sounding name---Balitucan--derived from “balitug”,  roasted corn kernels sprinkled with sugar, that are a favorite snack items of Kapampangans. Corn and sugar are the principal produce of this place. But there exists another version why it is so named.  There are those who believe that the name came from”balituk”, or gold in Ilocano, which supports another tale that the settlers of the place where Ilocanos from Nueva Ecija. Balitucan, which straddles Tarlac, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija, is the biggest barangay of Magalang.

KALEDIAN (Arayat)
Kaledian is the old name of the Camba, a barangay in Arayat. Pres. Manuel L. Quezon established a farmstead here, and named it Hacienda Caledian, after one of the major barangays of Baler, his birthplace. The name “Caledian” is believed to have been derived from “Calle diyan!” (the street over there) referring to a road that had no specific geographical boundary at that time. It is interesting to note that next to Caledian, Arayat is the barrio Suklayin”, also named by Quezon after a Baler place. Caledian was re-named Camba in later years, but Suklayin has retained its name.

DARABULBUL (Concepcion)
Another place in Tarlac with a name that often elicited embarrassed snickers in the past is Darabulbul, in existence as a barrio since 1853. People love to tell stories that the vulgar-sounding name was derived from somebody’s aunt’s public hair (“Dara” or aunt + “bulbul” or pubic hair). “Darabulbul” is an old Kapampangan term that means “the spurting or gushing of liquid like water—often with sporadic, gurgling sound. It is the name also ascribed to a river where the barrio is located, which, locals refer to as “Ilug Burat” (Prick River).  Today, Darabulbul has been renamed Corazon de Jesus.

MALATUNDUNBAKA (Porac)
Hacienda Ramona, in Dolores, Porac, is the site of important archaeological excavations conducted in the 1950s that date back to pre-colonial Pampanga. It is also where one can find a rock formation that resembled the ridge on a cattle’s back, hence it is known as “Malatundunbaka” (“like the nape of a cattle”). In ancient times, Malatundunbaka was where corpses were dried to prepare them for secondary burial. A burial jar with a skeleton and bracelets were found in the area, as noted by noted archaeologist Robert Fox.

MANIBAUG (Porac)
“Sibaung”—an insect from the beetle family that infested palms and coconut trees, gave its name to this barangay which once had swarms of them. People from nearby Bacolor would come to this place to go”manibaung” – or go hunting for such black beetles that were considered culinary delicacies, espceically when cooked adobo-style. “Manibaung” was later corrupted to “Manibaug”.  Today, the culinary practice of preparing ‘sibaung’ still is practiced in Porac.

MARGOT (Angeles)
Margot was a new settlement founded on the southern boundary of Camp Stotsenburg in the mid 1920s. The barrio with a distinct American name was envisioned to be a healthful, sanitary place where the American soldiers could seek wholesome leisure under military supervision—in contrast to “sinful” Sapang Bato. ‘Margot’ (formerly sitios Talimundoc & Tacondo), was derived from the name of the only daughter of the Commanding Officer of Camp Stotsenburg.

MINING (Angeles)
Even local historian Mariano Henson has no clues as to the origin of the name “Mining”. At first glance, the seemingly English name of this small eastern barrio of Angeles is suggestive of the presence of “mina” (mine ores), but no such documentation  exist. A more plausible story comes from recollections of longtime residents Marciano Catanghal and Agustin Pineda (aged 81 and 68 respectively, at the time of the 2000 interview), the place had no name since the Japanese Occupation. Due to the proliferation of  sweet-smelling kamuning trees lining their main road, the residents used these natural landmarks to name their barrio “Mining”, a diminutive of “kamuning”.

SEPUNG BULAON (Porac)
Sepung Bulaon was once a sitio of barrio Pias, and was separated as a barrio in 1882. In Kapampangan, “Sepung Bulaon” means “the tip of a molave tree”. The hardwood molave used to grow in profusion in the area, but one tall ancient bulaon tree stood out for its imposing height. It was only after the old tree fell that people realized its extraordinary dimension—its tip extended all the way to the location of the visita. To remember their natural landmark, the barrio was named Sepung Bulaon.

TACASAN DAPU (Candaba)
Barangay Gulap of Candaba used to have an old sitio by the name of Tacasan Dapu Legend has it that in the old days, a fishpond called Lucong always overflowed due to a river that always spilled its water into the pond—along with its resident man-eating crocodile. The crocodile always used this spillway to come and go, hence the name, “Tacasan Dapu”. This became an annual occurrence so the residents , fearful of the crocodile’s presence, moved to a new location, depopulating the sitio.

TINANG (Concepcion)
The barrio’s name was actually the nickname of a certain Maria Cristina, the kind wife of a German settler who cleared the area and began a farmhouse there in the 1900s—hence the early name, ‘Caingin Aleman’. After some time,  the place was called simply “Tinang” after the gracious “Indang Tinang”. However, as early as 1853, there was already a barrio by that name in Magalang-Concepcion town, thus dispelling this romantic origin story. This barrio was consolidated with 5 others to form barangay San Miguel during the American occupation.

Sources:
Cojuangco, Tingting. TARLAC
Dizon, Lino L. , AMLAT, Kapampangan Local History Contours in Tarlac and Pampanga, Center for Tarlaqueño Studies, Tarlac State University, 2000.
Dizon, Lino L. East of Pinatubo: Former recollect Missions in Tarlac and Pampanga (1712-1898), Museo Archivo Recoletos,  Center for Tarlaqueño Studies, Tarlac State University, 1998.
Kasaysayang Local: Angeles City, by Zaide Foundation and Dept. of Education, Culture and Sports, All-Nations Publishing, Quezon City, 2000.
Mallari, Joel P. Etymology of Place Names in San Fernando. http://tarebalakdiscovery.blogspot.com/2008/01/baltangan-da-ring-memalen-ning-san.html
Sibug, Edgardo C. Porac, A Rancheria at Batiauan 1594-2004, Municipal Government of Porac, 2006.
Batang Baler:http://www.batangbaler.net/2010/03/28/caledian-and-suklayin/
Historical Data Papers of Apalit, Candaba, Macabebe,

Photo Sources
Balitucan: cornicks: sweetcherriepie.com
Sepung Bulaon: Molave tree, www.flickr.com
Tinang: www.oxpal.com (costumes)
Map of Margot and Mining: Kasaysayang Local: Angeles City
Map of Concepcion: Tarlac
All other maps: google maps

Sunday, December 4, 2016

27. 10 REASONS WHY CHRISTMAS IN PAMPANGA IS UNIQUE

There’s no Christmas like a Pampanga Christmas! It’s the the time of the year when Kapampangans put on their best shows—through their unique religious festivals, quaint customs, unusual traditions—some vanishing, some flourishing—all sublime expressions of a people’s devotion to their faith, and for visitors--all sure to please and awe. Here are reasons why Christmas in Pampanga is unique.
 1. THE SERENATA OF BETIS. On the eve of the barrio fiesta on December 30, three of the best brass bands in Pampanga, including Sasmuan’s Banda 31 and Betis’ own Banda 48, come together in front of the famous Betis Church and perform all the musical pieces they have in their respective repertoires to the delight of the crowd, often lasting until the wee hours. The objective is to outplay, outclass and outlast each other. The band that can play the most number of pieces without repeating is declared winner. Their repertoires consist of arias, fantasies, classical opera pieces from Verdi, Gounod, Rossini, Auber, and Bellini, local folk songs, Christmas songs, Broadway songs, and standards from John Sousa and US military bands, apparently brought here by the Thomasites. Other towns hold their own serenatas, including Angeles City during its fiesta and Sta. Rita during Holy Week ('pasyon serenata'), but it is only in Betis that it is held during the holiday season, making Christmas in Pampanga truly unique.

2. THE KURALDAL OF SASMUAN. Kapampangans dance the kuraldal in Betis, in Apalit, in Macabebe, in Masantol, in Lubao and almost everywhere else, but the biggest, longest and most fervent kuraldal happens in this small fishing town, starting on the feast day of its patron saint, St. Lucy, on Dec. 13, and reaching its climax on Jan. 6 (traditional feast day of the Three Kings) and Jan. 10, when the Christmas season officially ends in Sasmuan. "Kuraldal" is a generic term for devotional dances performed during feast days of saints but the mad dancing and gyrating done by devotees in Sasmuan would make Obando and Sinulog seem like innocent grade-school folk dances. Dancers shout "Viva Apu Lucia! Puera sakit (Away with illness)!" Barren mothers are often said to conceive after dancing the kuraldal. Apparently the tradition dates back to pre-Hispanic times, probably around a prehistoric pagan god now lost and replaced by a Catholic saint, because Spanish chronicler Gaspar de Sa Agustin wrote that the image of St. Lucy had been venerated in Sasmuan “since long ago”--and he wrote that in 1698!

3. THE PASTORELA OF MABALACAT. During the nine-day simbang bengi, the parish choir of this town performs the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Agnus Dei and other parts of the Mass like no other choir does—with operatic flourish and high drama complete with violins. The songs are collectively called ‘pastorela’ (from Misa de Pastorela, Mass of the Shepherds) supposedly brought from Spain during colonial times but adopted by local musicians who made them more spectacular and melodramatic, I suspect to keep drowsy Mass-goers entertained. The Spanish friars collaborated with our ancestors to come up with all sorts of gimmicks to make church services worthy alternatives to their folk practices. Thus, they created lubenas, sabat santacruzan, salubong, tanggal, kuraldal, libad, and of course, pastorela. The Misa de Pastorela is still done in Spain, Portugal and Mexico, where it is sometimes called Misa de los Pastores (Mass of the Shepherds) and Misa de Gallo (Rooster's Mass), but here in the Philippines, there's only one parish left where they still sing the pastorela: the Our Lady of Grace Parish in Mabalacat City. Catch the pastorela before they vanish!

4. MAJIGANGGAS OF STA. ANA. The more well-known Higante Festival in Angono has a counterpart in Sta. Ana town of Pampanga known as Majigangga. Giant human puppets representing dark, evil-looking people take to the streets and revel with the residents in the church patio, from Dec. 16 to Christmas Day, when they are supposedly banished by Christ’s birth. The unique tradition was derived from Mexico, which had a form of street pageant called “mojigangga” , which, in turn was adapted from medieval Spain. Kapampangans however, used the puppets as symbols of evil, unlike in Mexico where they represented saints and royal figures. The tradition has been kept alive mostly by the family and friends of the late Jacinto Quiambao, as well as by the town's cultural advocates who see the majiganggas as a valuable tradition that expresses the townspeople's folk religiosity. The giants trail the lubenas (lantern procession) and perform in the church patio, drawing children and adults alike closer to the church where the simbang bengi is held.

5. THE GIANT LANTERNS OF SAN FERNANDO. The term deserves to be in capital letters because these humongous wheels of rotating lights, like UFO mother ships descending from the night sky, are truly world-class. Their sheer size (average 20 feet) , design, and the precision with which the kaleidoscope of colors dances (lit by 5,000 bulbs)-- you'd think they were assembled by a well-financed army of engineers, electricians, artists, computer technicians and programmers, but in reality, the lanterns are only put together in a backyard in some barrio in San Fernando, by a ragtag team of local craftsmen and artisans, using hairpins, masking tape, and a spaghetti tangle of wires connected to tin drums mounted on a six-by-six truck. Someone rotates these drums with a wheel to the tune of Christmas carols. Every December, these Giant Lanterns turn San Fernando into a dazzling city of lights, as they vie for several titles at the Giant Lantern festival. The “ligligan parul’ was said to have started in San Fernando in 1904 or 1908, following the transfer of the provincial capital from Bacolor to the town, and grew to spectacular proportions with the introduction of electricity in 1931.

6. MAYTINIS. Traditional 9-day processions in Pampanga are called “lubenas” (corrupted from “novena”) , held from Dec. 16 to Dec. 24. “Lubenas” happens in Angeles, San Fernando, Mexico and Magalang, but the Christmas Eve event held in Mabalacat is most elaborate. Called “Maytinis”, (derived from “matins”, early evening prayers), it is marked with the spectacular procession of holy images—patrons of every barangay, accompanied by colorfully lit lanterns or parul of the most amazing variety. Village choirs singing “Dios te Salve” accompany the faithful as they wend their way through the main streets of the town and back to the courtyard of the church. Barangays try to outdo each other in decorating the carrozas and in designing the electrified lanterns that are borne on bamboo poles. After the midnight mass, citations are given to the barangay with the most representation, best lantern, best choir, and most prayerful.

7. THE ANIMATED FISH LANTERNS OF ANGELES. Everyone is familiar with the star-shaped lantern that symbolized the bright star that guided the Magis and shepherds to the stable where Jesus was born. But there existed other lanterns shapes that were processioned in Angeles during Christmas time. Local historian Mariano Angeles recorded such event in 1830 when a procession featured “quaint, illuminated lanterns made of the same material (bamboo and paper), depicting aquatic animals, in skillful and artistic imitation of the real ones. The big paper fishes and lobsters, by means of ingenious contrivances, are made to move their dorsal andcaudal fins, their mouths, and their eyes”. The Fish, is of course, a symbol of Christ, and the lanternsserved as added attractions to the religious processions. Only a few barangays in Angeles still have the fish lantern in prusisyons, as the last maker of such lanterns, Eulogio Catahan (Apung Eloy) have since passed away in late 2012.

8. THE HANDMADE CHRISTMAS TOYS OF GUAGUA. In old Guagua, children received Christmas toys not from fancy shops but handcrafted for the occasion by loving fathers, uncles and brothers. This folk art was still thriving in the early 1950s. A 1953 magazine account describes the toys thus: “These are the animal pull toys that were fashioned from bamboo and wire. The skeleton frame was then covered with thin, white “papel de japon”. They were mounted on 4-wheeled wooden platforms, and were so constructed that at every turn of the wheels, parts of their bodies moved and simulated an action peculiar to the animal they represented”. The animals chosen were often culled from the figures present at the birth of Jesus—lambs, cows, doves—as well as domesticated ones like dogs, cats, carabaos. Ingeniously made, the chickens flapped their wings, the cats played with their balls of thread, and dogs crouched and leaped as they were pulled on the town streets at night, lit with candles. The children with their glowing toys head for the church with their parents for the traditional mass. “It seemed”, waxed one Guagua resident recalling the scene, “as if all mankind and all the creatures of the earth were going again to the manger to worship at the feet of the Prince of Peace”. 


9. PANUNULUYAN. Biblical dramatizations were often enacted to teach catechism and caton during the Spanish times. Thus, the Panunuluyan, adapted from  “las posadas” of Mexico, a novenario performed on the 9 days before Christmas. It is known in the Tagalog region, but Pampanga has its versions too. The Panunuluyan dramatizes the search for lodging of the Holy Couple, Jose and the very pregnant Maria. Originally, the images of the two, atop decorated carrozas, are processioned on Christmas eve and taken from house to house, in re-enactment of that event in Bethlehem.  Eventually, real people, instead of santos, were cast to assume the roles of Jose and Maria, almost always respectable citizens of the town. The cast expanded to include the 3 Magis, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltazar and even a Narrator and a Koro, a Chorus of singers who sang and delivered verses for the Holy Couple. Only a few towns like Sta. Rita and Arayat now stage this playlet every year, but sometimes done in the church  grounds—no longer on the streets.

10. PAMANGAN PASKU! From the 'duman' whose harvest in early November coincides with the countdown to Christmas, to the 'tsokolati king batirul' and the 'panara' which mass goers coming home from the 'simbang bengi' take for breakfast. It is during Christmas when the dining table is most heavily laden with a cornucopia of the best that the Kapampangan culinary tradition can offer--galantina, bringhe, asado, escabeche, estofado, afritada, mechado, menudo, azucena, pochero, relleno, morcon, lengua, etc.--and the delicacies that only Kapampangans can make—turrones, sans rival, pastillas de leche, tibuk tibuk, pepalto, yemas, sanikulas, empanada, ensaimada, bobotu, pulburun, leche flan, silvana, espasol, araru, putu seco, ale ubi, bibingkang nasi, calame ubi, calame biko, sampelut, inangit, galang galang, putu lazon, kutsinta, suman tili, suman bulagta, suman ebus, patupat, alualu (Kabigting style, Corazon style, Razon style, you name it), pionono, tocino del cielo, samani, bangka bangka, batya batya, bucarillo, putung babi, taisan, plantadilla, rosquetes, mayumung kamias, mayumung kamatis, brazo de la reina, etc. There's even a street food called 'patcu' which is a corruption of 'pascu' and 'lagang pasku' which your mother cooks only this time of year when the Chinese ham is available.

BONUS:
AGUMAN SANDUK OF MINALIN Technically, the Aguman Sanduk is not part of the Christmas festivities. But its celebration takes place within the holiday period-- on January 1 afternoon, while the country takes a rest after welcoming the New Year. Since its conception in 1934, the menfolk of Minalin have participated in the most flamboyantly freakish parade ever seen—the Aguman Sanduk (Fellowship of the Ladle) . On this day, they dab rouge and lipstick on their faces, put on their wives’ or sisters’ dresses and join others dressed similarly in a riotous street parade. The tradition started as a dare among men 80 years ago while on a drinking binge—to prove their machismo and as a liberation from repression. The only difference is that the particpants are all straight males and boys. The culmination of Pampanga’s zaniest festival is the selection and coronation of the ugliest cross-dresser, the Reyna ning Aguman Sanduk, where, she is given a ladle as a scepter.

 SOURCES: 
Adapted from“Why Christmas in Pampanga is Unique?” by Robby P. Tantingco, originally posted on his facebook page. 6 Dec. 2013. With additional notes by Alex Castro 
 “Folk Festivals”, Singsing Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 4, p. 5 
 Singsing Magazine, “Pampanga’s Folk Arts” Vol. 5. Nol. 1. Center for Kapampangan Studies, Holy Angel University. 
Henson, Mariano A., “A Brief History of the Town of Angeles”, ©1948, revised edition, 2003. 

Photo Sources: 
Serenata: Punto Central Luzon/ Kuraldal, Aguman Sanduk: Headline Gitnang Luzon/ 
Pastorela/Christmas Toys: Alex Castro/ Majinganggas, Pamangan Pasku: RPT / 
Giant Lanterns: Ivan Henares/ Maytinis: Jude Belnas photo
Fish Lanterns: Singsing Magazine/ Panunuluyan: Sta. Rita de Cascia Parish FB page.