FAMILY

The basic units of the Philippine social organization are the elementary family which
includes the mother, father and children, and the bilateral extended family which
embraces all relatives of the father and the mother.
Filipinos are being known for having a strong family tights. A family is a basic unit of
society here in the Philippines. And usually a family is compose of the father,
mother, siblings, grandparents, uncle's, auntie's and cousins. And not to forget the
far away relatives, godparents, a long time neighbor, and family friends.
Filipinos treasured their family members so much. They keep on helping each other
as long as they can. A Filipino have this thought in mind "family first", that a
immediate family member are willing to sacrifice for the sake of his family just like
the parents do. And this was instill in young minds that their parents do the hard
work and sacrifice for them that's why when they grow up and have a job already
they are committed to take good care of their parents, that even they have a family
of their own they can leave their parents because of this thought. That if they will
give a chance to choose they will choose their family over anything else.
Because of this remarkable closeness, parents sometimes have difficulties letting go
of their children and thus results to having them stay for as long as they want. For
this somehow explains why grandparents are commonly seen living with their
children in the Philippines. Unlike the way people grow old in the west where they
are provided with outside homes and care giving, Filipino elderly enjoy their
remaining lives inside their houses with their children and grandchildren looking
after them.
nuclear families average six to eight members in size. Unmarried adult daughters
and sons typically remain in their parents' home and contribute to family support.
Additional extended family members such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, or
cousins also may live in the same house and assume vital roles
PANINIWALA
THE CATHOLICS CELEBRATIONS AND PRACTICES
Filipinos are religious in nature
In spite of the diverse religious groups in the Philippines each with its particular
practices; the Filipinos believe in only one God who is almighty and omnipotent.
Religious practices show concern and love for one's neighbors. Among the
Catholics, the Ten Commandment's set the standard of behavior. They keep images
of their saints at home and every church has a patron saint
The Philippines proudly boasts to be the only Christian nation in Asia.
The view of the world and the philosophy of life that these devotions reenact may
perhaps be summed up as follows: Life is hardship; we can only live by God?s
grace. The more we suffer, the more we are blessed. The Creator decides our fate;
we can only wish for it to be bearable. With him, everything is possible; we only

need to make our wishes known. If they are granted, we must remember to show
our gratitude by prayer and by mortification, at least once a year, but for the rest of
our life. If God seems not to respond, we must not despair. He is listening, but he
has reasons we cannot always fathom. At the right time he may speak to us
through the voice in our hearts. God?s ways are mysterious; it is not for us to
question him. We can only aspire to purify ourselves by learning how to suffer with
him.
beliefs and superstition are part of philippine culture
Being superstitious is a habit we inherited from our ancestors. Though nowadays in
the computer age, it is believed to be an old habit and has to bases to believe or
get affected by it, but there are still some people you are still believing and
observing this kind of beliefs. This belief is much known to us Filipinos as
PAMIHIIN. Some of this we can find it as totally hilarious and insane though some
are at least acceptable for some people. During the ancient days, behaviors, the
way they react to things and activities of the Filipinos were being influenced. Here
are some list of the Pamahiin w/c is known and commonly observed by some our
grandparents:
If you face a mirror at midnight you will see the reflection of your future
wife/husband.
No matter what time of day, you will always see one reflection..YOURS. If you
happen to see any other reflection other than yours, scream and run. Thats
probably a ghost.
Never sweep the floor at night or youll sweep all the good luck out.
I think my luck would be perfectly fine as I rarely sweep the floor.
If you drop a spoon, youll have a lady visitor; a man if you drop a fork; a
child if you drop a teaspoon.
What if I drop a knife? Eh papaano kung may party? Papaano na yan?
KULTURA
Philippine Culture. This is the one thing that separates us from the rest of the world
- our colorful and lively culture that makes us distinctly Filipino. This includes
traditions, language, arts, etc. which are found in museums, churches and galleries,
found within the heart of the key cities.
Filipino culture blends the indigenous traditions of the Philippines with the Hispanic
and American cultures, and also have distinct cultural traits of the Chinese, the
Indonesians and the Indians.

The Hispanic influences come largely from the cultural influence of Spain and
Mexico. The Hispanic influence stands visible in the religious festivals of the Roman

Catholic Church. Filipinos hold major festivities known as barrio fiestas to

commemorate their patron saints. However, what strikes one right away is the
prevalence of Spanish surnames among the Filipinos. However, this was a result of a
colonial decree for the systematic distribution of family names and implementation
of the Spanish naming system amongst the Filipinos. So, a Spanish surname does
not necessarily imply a Hispanic heritage.
Another trait Filipinos made themselves exceptional from others is their strong
respect for elders. Children are taught from birth how to say po and opo to teach
them as early as possible how to properly respect their elders. These words are
used to show respect to people of older level. Even adults will be criticized for not
using these words when speaking with their parents or people older than them.
Inside the family, the parents are expected to receive the highest respect from the
children along with the elder siblings; as they are given more responsibilities to look
after younger siblings when parents are not around.
Hospitality
Filipinos are known all over the world for being a hospitable people. Very warm in
accepting visitors at home. They will treat you as a family member. They will serve
nice dishes/good foods for you even if they just borrow the money they use for this
in the neighbor or relatives just to please you. You will notice also that they will let
you use the best kitchen utensils, plates, glass and blanket which they are not using
normally. They will use it for this exclusive guest only. They even let the guest use
the room they are using and sleep outside just to
please the guest. That's the hospitality of the
Filipinos.
This is one of the most used short story from
Filipino to show to someone, how much the family is
important to a Filipino:
The Filipinos are a helpful people. They live the
members of their family, their relatives, neighbors,
friends and even strangers. If the family is poor,
the members help one another and the elders sacrifice for the education of the
younger ones.
The bayanihan spirit makes it possible for the people to build houses, move houses,
plant crops, harvest crops, build roads and other things with little expense. The
people of the community help one another in doing this. Bayanihan is also an
occasion for fun because it brings the people of the community together. It means
getting together or helping one another in a common project or work. Many hands
make light work is the idea behind the bayanihan.
THE FIESTA CELEBRATIONS
Fiestas are held on the birthday of the patron saint celebrated with the holding of a

novena, a nine-day devotion of masses followed by special prayers of praise to the

patron saint. The plaza around t5he church is decorated with colorful buntings. On
the ninth day which is the feast day of the saint, a high mass is celebrated by one
or several priests. Suddenly the plaza is transformed into a mini-market where
ready-made clothes, toys, fruits, and native delicacies are sold. A brass band plays
after the mass and then makes a round of the immediate vivinity playing popular
Filipino songs, marches and kundimans. This sets a happy, festive mood in the
community with residents going on splurge entertaining relatives and friends from
other towns.
The town fiesta is an event that the residents look forward to. Three or four months
before the fiesta the family takes good care of a piglet and chickens earmarked for
the fiesta. Of course, the fiesta is an occasion when friends and relatives can be
together, enjoy each other's account of the past year's experiences and partake of
the palatable dishes prepared for a day. Children living out-of-town make a special
effort to come home and be with their parents, relatives, and friends for the fiesta.
The fiesta is a Filipino heritage that has been handed down from generation. It has
its advantages as well as its disadvantages. Must we continue pertrating it as it is?
Can it be perpetuated with certain modifications?