Celebrating Pinoy Christmas in unusual places

Celebrating Christmas in unusual places and circumstances is a unique experience. No matter where we are, through shared meals, games, or videoke sessions, we Filipinos always try to make the spirit of Christmas alive and merry. The Filipino Expat Magazine asked three kababayans what it is like to celebrate Christmas in remote places like the desert, sea and war zones.

Christmas Eve in the Desert

Christmas in Saudi Arabia is totally different from how we celebrate back home. While the country doesn’t officially celebrate Christmas, we find ways to bring the festive season to life within our company compound.

My roommates and I, all Filipinos, spend the early days of December transforming our shared room into a festive place. On Christmas Eve, the company lets us use a vacant room in our compound, empty at night and perfect for our celebration. By evening, it is filled with laughter and the mouthwatering aroma of lechon manok, adobo, and spaghetti. We lay out the feast and everyone digs in. After dinner, the real fun begins. We play games, exchange gifts, and take turns singing our favorite songs in a videoke session. As the party winds down, I make my way back to my room and call my family.

For us truck drivers, Christmas often takes a different turn. Sometimes, work keeps us on the road. I remember my first Christmas in Saudi Arabia, spending it alone in the desert. The night was cold and quiet, making me miss my family.

But in most years, we manage to gather even if we’re on the road. We park our trucks side by side, creating a small community in the vast expanse. We share food and stories, laughing and eating inside our trucks. Alcohol is forbidden, so we toast with soft drinks instead, careful not to break any rules that might send us back home prematurely.

–  Gary John Belarmino, Truck Driver, Saudi Arabia

Christmas Eve at Sea

The atmosphere on the ship at Christmas is the total opposite of what Christmas is at home. It is sad and incomplete but despite it, we still need to try to be happy.

The extent of Christmas preparations on a ship can vary greatly depending on the captain and the management. While some ships may go all out with decorations and festivities, others may opt for a more subdued celebration. In my experience we usually don´t decorate but we celebrate.

On Christmas Eve, the crew works together to set up the dining area and prepare a festive meal. After dinner, there is often singing, dancing, and perhaps a karaoke session. However, if Christmas Eve falls on an operational day, the crew may still have to work, albeit with a festive spirit.

Christmas Day itself is usually a rest day, allowing the crew to relax and enjoy the holiday. Some ships may organize special activities or events, while others may simply provide a quiet day for the crew to unwind.

My first Christmas at sea is often the most memorable. We celebrated Christmas for a week. We worked in the morning and we played some games every after our shifts. It was fun while it lasted.

– Bigboy de la Fuente, Seafarer

Ceasefire on Christmas Day

There was an ongoing fight in Syria between the ISIS and Kurdish forces so we were really busy treating patients and doing surgeries at the hospital. The mood was somber, no Christmas music playing around as it is also a Muslim country although there were Christians in the community. We managed to prepare food that the group ate at midnight. We were able to get some Santa hats from the capital which each of us wore during midnight dinner. The coordination office in Iraq sent us two Christmas trees, some letters from home, some goodies and some motivational letters from colleagues at the HQ in Belgium.

I remember my second Christmas in Syria. I had already anticipated that it would be difficult to get Christmas decors so I bought some from home. I placed a small parol in my room entry and played Jose Mari Chan’s song every morning. My housemates would surely remember the song “Christmas in our hearts”. I prepared a chocolate and banana cakes for the team, some of the expats prepared dishes on Christmas Eve. It was a relatively silent Christmas. There was no fighting after midnight and we were able to just stay at home and called our loved ones.

In South Sudan, we lived in a UN compound next to a hospital and a huge refugee camp. Most of the displaced people were Christians and they had this practice of going around the perimeter of the refugee camp at dawn and singing songs loudly accompanied by drums and gongs. It was a like a procession of sort with really hearty singing that’s starts on the 16th of December and lasts until the day before Christmas. We went to the market inside the refugee camp and bought some trinkets and I gave them to two of my closest expat friends.

Christmas Eve was really fun with a big meal in the compound prepared by the cooks. We started Christmas day with a really hearty meal. The HQ (Amsterdam) sent us cold cuts, wines and really familiar and luxurious food. I forgot that we were in the middle of nowhere in Africa for a while when I saw smoked salmon and sparkling wines on the table.

I was there when there was still fighting between the Talibans and the government forces in Afghanistan. The expat compound was fully decorated for Christmas. We had a big dinner, parlor games and gift giving at midnight. Christmas day was unremarkable – we did our daily tasks as doctors but most of the day was considered a free day for the expats who were celebrating. I had bought llanera (molder) from home so I made leche flan for the team. I also made cakes, pansit and adobo. I was trying to recreate the festive atmosphere like back home.

Celebrating Christmas is really hard in war torn places as we are very concerned about security. But it is heartwarming that even if we belong to different religions, even if we have different practices, even if there are war in these places, everyone in some way respects the meaning of Christmas and surprisingly, fighting stops during these days.

– Dra. Evangeline Cua, International Humanitarian Worker, Doctors without Borders

Header Photo: Mdv Edwards