december-2011

ILLUSTRATION KIT KAT MAINGAT You
Camera-shy?
Not a Pinoy
family!
chikka laugh g tripp
know
you , re Pinoy if...
This Christmas, Tim Tayag reminds us of the telling signs that
let us know we’re unmistakably part of a Pinoy family
THE LAST SUPPER painting, the giant spoon
and fork, the rosary hanging on the rearview
mirror, pointing with your lips — you’ve heard
all these before as some part of a “You Know
You’re Filipino” list. But what about holiday
season-specifi c Filipino behavior, which starts
in the “ber” months? And so here it is, the
incomplete “You know you’re from a Pinoy
family if…” Christmas edition.
You , re at the airport every
week to pick up family
Your relatives from abroad start coming in
with their balikbayan boxes and faux foreign
accents. Those jeepneys for hire start getting
busy around the holiday season as your
uncles, aunties and cousins with the bleached
blonde hair and Manny Pacquiao shirts come
home because they know we have the best
Christmas in the world. All of them have one
wish: “I want to be on Willie’s game show.”
You’ll have to flex your smile
muscles as often as Renato
Donaire flexes his biceps
To say that we Filipinos love our photos
would be the understatement of the year —
every family portrait around Christmas-time
translates to at least an hour of sitting and
holding your pose. The day’s designated
photographer will look like a Christmas tree
as cameras of all shapes and sizes, belonging
to each member of the assembled clan, hang
from his arms.
Your mom puts up the
Christmas decorations
Actually, the festive lights have always been
hanging around the house, but now it’s time
to plug them back in. Your mother is in
constant competition with your neighbors’
Christmas displays; and so this year, she
creates the most elaborate reindeer, sleigh,
and birth of Jesus Christ life-sized diorama on
the roof of your house, which is also visible
from the airplanes in the sky. All your vehicles
are also required to have mini lanterns hanging
on the rearview mirror, unless you don’t want
to receive any gifts this year because you’re
not a team player.
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You eat ham and queso de
bola every day
These are the leftovers from Christmas eve
that you’ll be dining on for the rest of the year.
You’ll realize how many different ways you can
serve ham – ham and cheese sandwich, ham
and cheese salad, ham and cheese omelet,
ham and cheese spaghetti, ham and cheese
paksiw, ham and cheese ice cream, etc.
Your whole family hides from
the carolers and godchildren
Your parents instruct your maids, “Tell them
nobody’s home. We’re all out of town and
won’t be back until the summer.” Your family
panics at the sight of Christmas carolers,
godchildren, janitors, security guards,
newspaper delivery boys, and anybody with
an envelope asking for their pamasko, a.k.a.
cash money.
The list goes on, demonstrating the
elaborate holiday season celebration in a
country where Yuletide is a month long. And
you’re defi nitely from a Filipino family if you
always look forward to Christmas time.