Category: Philippine Culture

Holy Week in the Philippines

On By SCLMRoseIn HOLIDAYS, Philippine Culture, Philippines, Philippines ChurchesLeave a comment

When I was growing up in the Philippines, during Cuaresma (Holy Week), from Domingo de Ramos (Palm Sunday) to Pasko ng Pagkabuhay (Easter Sunday), Catholic rites in the Philippines were infused with special fervor. It was a time for street pageantry and spiritual cleansing with processions, flagellantes, and passion plays.

On Palm Sunday, the devouts brought palm branches to church to be blessed as symbols of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. In rural areas, the palms might be dried and ground as a medicinal ingredient. Ceremonies reenacting the washing of the feet of the apostles were held in churches on Holy Thursday and Good Friday was a very solemn day. It was also marked by a vigil and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In churches, priests expounded on Christ’s seven last words spoken on the cross. During Lent, tradition calls for Passion, a book of verses from the creation of man through Christ’s resurrection was read or sung either by an individual or a group as a devotional prayer.

Easter Sunday marked the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and the purple cloth of mourning was removed from the religious images. Church bells pealed and alleluias were sung. The salubong (meeting) took place. The Easter celebration started at dawn around five o’clock with a procession heralding the resurrection of Christ and his reunion with Mary. After the mass at dawn, twin processions left the church led by statues of Mary, the Sorrowful Mother, and the Resurrected Christ and followed by women and men, respectively. The two processions went on opposite direction around the town plaza and then meet in front of the church on the way back.

As choruses were sung, the statues “met”, meaning placed side by side beneath an arch adorned with flowers in front of the church. A little girl dressed as an angel, with wings and a halo, will remove Mary’s black veil with a long handled hook. Its removal was connected with superstitions about the harvest (e.g. a smooth unveiling meant a good harvest, a fallen veil drought). It put so much pressure on the little girl who was doing the honor. I used to participate in this tradition. It was one of the most memorable days of my growing up years.

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“BAHALA NA (Come What May)” – Kindle Countdown Deals

On By SCLMRoseIn Free Promotion, Kindle, Philippine Culture, Philippine History, WWIILeave a comment

Kindle Countdown Deals for “BAHALA NA (COME WHAT MAY)“ is set to begin on January 27, 2014 at 8:00:00 AM PST.

You can buy your Kindle copy of my book, “Bahala Na (Come What May)” at a discount price of $.99 on Monday, Jan. 27, 2014. The best deal!

The price goes up to $1.99 on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014.

On Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2014, the price will be $2.99.

On Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, the price goes up to $3.99, still a dollar off the regular price.

On Friday, Jan. 31, 2014, the price goes back to the regular price of $4.99.

So take advantage of the discounted price at www.amazon.com/author/rosalindarmorgan.

Learn about a young man’s obsession to meet the love of his life and his struggle after WWII starts and his life during the war. Gain insight about the Philippines and the Filipino people and how their faith helps them in their struggle through life. “Bahala Na”, “Leave it to God” is one dictum they cling to when they are in trouble.

Rosalinda Morgan, author, “BAHALA NA (Come What May)”.

Why Filipinos have two kitchens

On By SCLMRoseIn Philippine Culture, PhilippinesLeave a comment

The kitchen is the central part of some homes where family congregates. In a traditional home in the western world, the wife usually does the cooking with few exceptions. She spends much time in the kitchen so the kitchen flows into the breakfast nook or the more casual dining room/family room combo. Filipinos on the other hand, especially the middle class and the rich, have a cook in residence and the kitchen in the main part of the house is seldom used. Filipino kitchens are not well ventilated and cheerfully curtained. Most of them do not have all the amenities that modern kitchens in the United States have so most cooking is done in the back of the house where the ‘dirty kitchen’ is located.

Many Filipino houses, especially those owned by the wealthy have two kitchens; one for show which is located in the main house and a small no-nonsense kitchen area with cylinder gas-fuelled burner or fire wood stove used for day to day cooking. The so-called ‘dirty kitchen’ is located in an unobtrusive back part of the house used by the hired cook in residence who does most of the cooking. It could also be outdoor to ward off the stinking smell of greasy and fishy odor from permeating the house. For those who can afford modern appliances, the lady of the house sometime ventures to do some special cooking using her modern gadgets. The cylinder gas-fuelled burner or firewood stove is useful during periodic ‘brownouts’ when the electric oven and range become useless. As a practical alternative during frequent ‘brownouts’, the ‘dirty kitchen’ relies on less sophisticated appliances because a hired cook does not really require time and labor-saving gadgets but most likely did not know how to operate the new gadgets and will result in damaging the modern appliances.

Copyright © 2014. By Rosalinda Morgan, Author. All rights reserved. *Why Filipinos have two kitchen*

BAHALA NA – KINDLE COUNTDOWN DEALS

On By SCLMRoseIn BAHALA NA (Come What May), Kindle, Philippine Culture, PhilippinesLeave a comment

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Kindle Countdown Deals for “BAHALA NA (COME WHAT MAY)“ is set to begin today, November 26, 2013 at 8:00:00 AM PST.

You can buy your Kindle copy of my book, “Bahala Na (Come What May)” at a discount price of $.99 today,Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2013. The best deal!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 27, the price goes up to $1.99.

On Thursday, Nov. 28, the price will be $2.99.

On Friday, Nov. 29, the price goes up to $3.99, still a dollar off the regular price.

On Saturday, Nov. 30, the price goes back to the regular price of $4.99.

Take advantage of the discounted price at www.amazon.com/author/rosalindarmorgan.

Learn about the Philippines and the Filipino people and how their faith helps them in their struggle through life. “Bahala Na”, “Leave it to God” is their motto when they are in trouble.

Rosalinda Morgan,author

“BAHALA NA (Come What May)”.

 

MOVING ALONG THE NANOWRIMO CHALLENGE

On By SCLMRoseIn BAHALA NA (Come What May), Philippine Culture, Positive ThinkingLeave a comment

It’s now Day20. I’m a third away on my journey to finishing the NANOWRIMO (National Novel Writing Month) marathon.

I finished 34,333 words last night, getting close to the 50,000-word count. The novel is taking shape but I have to stay motivated to push forward. Sometimes I sat on my chair staring at my computer screen and did not know what to write next.  I typed in words, then deleted them and typed some more until I thought it made sense. I’m writing a story about a strong-willed woman based on my grandmother’s life. My grandmother’s life story gave me all the inspiration I needed to begin writing. She tried to survive without the help of her husband who died unexpectedly leaving her with nine young children to support. Will she find the strength she needs to sustain life without the financial help and support of a loving husband? Buoyed by her love for her children and an undying principle that it is her duty to keep her children together no matter what, will she find a way to keep them together? It is a memoir that reads like fiction.

I am getting to the point of the story where the children were all grown-ups and big kids had bigger problems than young kids. It will be interesting how the story evolves as the years go by. I have roughly just under 16,000 words to fill in the rest of the story. The story begins in 1928 and ends going into WWII. Then it continues to my current book, BAHALA NA (Come What May).  

 

Copyright © 2013.  By Rosalinda Morgan, author “BAHALA NA (Come What May)”.

All rights reserved.  MOVING ALONG THE NANOWRIMO CHALLENGE

 If you missed the free promotion of my book on Oct. 20, 2013, you can still borrow “BAHALA NA (Come What May)” at Kindle Owners’ Lending Library anytime or watch for the upcoming Kindle Countdown Deals.

 

What is the meaning of BAHALA NA?

On By SCLMRoseIn BAHALA NA (Come What May), Philippine Culture, Philippines, Positive Thinking, Tagalog Language8 Comments

When we were editing my book, “BAHALA NA (Come What May)”, a phrase popped up few times and caught our attention. That was when we decided to change the title of the book and published it with the new title, “BAHALA NA (Come What May)”.

“Bahala na” is a philosophical expression Filipinos used when they are confronted with problems. They will say “Bahala Na”, meaning “come what may,” “whatever will be, will be,” ‘leave it to God’, like the Spanish word “que sera, sera”.  

“Bahala na”,comes from the phrase Bathala na, where Bathala means God. Bahala also means trust or custody. Na is used as an adverb of time just like already. So it can literally be translated as God already or God will take care already. It is used in the context of “Trust in God”, “God will take control”,“Leave it to God” because God will provide. In a sense, it can be construed as a negative attitude in life, a defeatist or fatalistic attitude where you are only willing to do so much and leave the rest to God. Some people believe it makes you irresponsible, careless and lazy. On the other hand, it stops you from worrying about your problem during uncertain times. It relieves stress knowing you did everything you could and God will take control of the rest.

When faced with challenging situations, Filipinos can do a daring act and they leave everything to God hoping God will take care of them. They accept what comes their way, appreciate what they have, and God will take care of the rest. In time of tragedy, they are not easily discouraged. They know they have done their best and with a strong faith, they leave everything to God, knowing God is on their side. True, the term signifies an attitude intended to surrender to fate which can be construed as a negative attitude but it enables them to take a chance and accept what fate has to offer. It can also be viewed as a positive thinking, in the sense that it gives them strength and confidence to tackle any job head on in the hope that everything will turn out for the best if God wills it.  

“Bahala na” is used in different ways such as:

  • Bahala na – come what may
  • Akong bahala sa ‘yo. – I’ll take care of you
  • Bahala – whatever
  • Bahala ka na – it’s up to you
  • Bahala ka na nga – it’s up to you
  • Bahala na ang Dios – it’s up to God
  • Bahala na kayo – it’s up to you or the decision is yours
  •  Bahala na sila – leave it to them
  • Bahala ka na sa akin – you’ll take care of me
  • Bahala na sina nanay at nanay – it’s up to mom and dad
  • Bahala na kayong lahat – it’s up to all of you
  • Bahala na kong anong mangyari. – he/she will accept whatever will happen
  • Ikaw ang bahala d’yan – you’re in charge of that.
  • Ipabahala – to leave the responsibility to someone else
  • mabahala – to be concerned, to feel worried.
  • Palagi ka nalang bahala na – you are always saying come what may
  • magwalang-bahala – to disregard
  • walang-bahal – ignorant,negligent
  • Nabahala ako sa narinig ko – I was distressed by what I heard

In Cebuano, a dialect of Cebu province, “Bahala Na”  is translated as mahitabo kung mahitabo; dili na mahinungdanon kung unsa pa may mahitabo o dangatan. I think I’ll stay with Bahala Na. It’s easier to remember.

Copyright © 2013. By Rosalinda R Morgan, author of BAHALA NA (Come What May.

All rights reserved. What is the meaning of “BAHALA NA “?

IMPORTANT PILIPINO (TAGALOG) PHRASES

On By SCLMRoseIn Philippine Culture, WWIILeave a comment

The Philippines is one of those countries that are blessed with people who speak different tongues. It can be due to the fact that the country has been inhabited by people across the globe and those influences contribute to the richness of the languages. There are about 87 different languages and dialects spoken in the Philippines.Tagalog was made the national language in 1946 and was changed to Pilipino in 1962. English is also widely used.

BAHALA NA (Come What May) is enriched with the use of some of the Pilipino phrases mentioned below. With the influx of Filipinos everywhere, it might be a great idea if you learn a few words. It can also be beneficial if you decide to visit the Philippines for business or for pleasure. Pronunciation is a bit tricky since we put the emphasis on the second syllable instead of the first so you just have to watch it. The words are said phonetically. Have fun and I will come back every so often and add more words. Here are some useful phrases for beginners.

1.    Magandang Umaga Po – Good Morning Sir/Madam

2.    Magandang Hapon Po – Good Afternoon Sir/Madam

3.    Magandang Gabi – Good Evening

4.    Kumusta? – How are you?

5.    Mabuti – I’m fine

6.    Salamat – Thank you

7.    Walang Anuman – You’re welcome. Literally it means “It does not matter.”

8.    Sino – Who

9.    Ano – What

10.Bakit – Why

11.Saan – Where

12.Gaano – How much

13.Dito – Here

14.Duun – There

15.Bahala Na – Come What May

Copyright © 2013. By Rosalinda R Morgan, author of BAHALA NA (Come What May.

All rights reserved. IMPORTANT PILIPINO (TAGALOG) PHRASES