BOHOL Tour Packages! - Panglao Beach Resorts, Chocolate Hills, River Cruise, Island Hopping from low P4500+ only from www.Bohol-Philippines.com

The Philippine Culture

A distinct mark of the Philippine Culture is the warm hospitality that characterizes Filipinos. This hospitality has led Filipinos to provide the best for their guests even if it would be hard to do so. This Filipino trait will always make you feel welcome in any home or place.

The warm hospitality leads to the fact that Filipinos are non-confrontational persons. Many times, a Filipino will not be direct-to-the-point when responding to an inquiry that might offend the asker. Filipinos usually keep debates and hard-talk within the home and most often than not, do not argue about political matters on the streets, in public buses or trains.

Another mark of Philippine culture is the strong family ties. Family ties do not only refer to the bonds between grandparents, parents, and children. These ties form a wonderful network of bonds between second cousins, uncles, aunties, their cousin's cousin, mother-side relatives, father-side relatives, parents and children, nephews and nieces up to the 2nd degree or even 3rd degree of consanguinity, but even relatives in-law.

These family ties are sometimes so strong that some see it as a problem when it comes to politics. In the Philippines, there are some towns and cities that have seen generations of politicians under one or two families.

Philippine culture is also characterized by dining. Almost all occasions are occasions for the family--yes, the extended family--to gather together and celebrate. Reunions are very popular in the Philippines. There is always the Christmas reunion, the Easter reunion, and even the All saints day reunion. All reunions are marked with a lot of dining and stories. These celebrations could be hosted by any family member. Pot-luck celebrations are also common.

Some events worthy of celebration include baptisms, confirmations, weddings, graduations, other anniversaries and even death anniversaries. In the Philippine, a gathering will not be complete without dining. Sometimes, this even extends to corporate meetings, conferences and seminars.

The fiesta is the ultimate celebratory experience. Fiesta literally means feast. The most common type of fiesta is the town or province fiesta, usually coinciding with the feast of a certain saint or the province's or town's patron saint. This means that the entire town or province celebrates--of course with food and drink overflowing at each house. There are many towns in the Philippines where anyone can go from house to house during a fiesta, even if you will be there just to taste some food.

In the Philippines, if you are offered food, it's always good not to refuse. But if you are allergic to some cuisine, say so and your hosts will not be offended.

Philippine Culture is partly the synthesis from Western and Oriental culture. This is evidenced by the spoken linguistic system in the Philippines. Filipinos who have at least finished high-school education speak and understand English. However, Tagalog is the local dialect usually spoken in the capital, Manila, that's why virtually everyone in the Philippines speaks and understands Tagalog. The interesting thing about English and Tagalog is that there is an "unofficial" Taglish--a mix of both English and Tagalog, widely spoken all over the country.

Taglish is very simple. It's just about word substitution. Substitute an English world for a Tagalog word and you have a Taglish sentence. Not all words could be substituted though. Since Taglish is an "unofficial" de-facto spoken language, there has not yet been a textbook for it.

For example, one could say this valid Taglish statement: "Why are you late? I've been waiting kanina pa for you!". The second statement means "I've been waiting for so long for you!".

This is another example: "She's so maganda!". "Maganda" means beautiful.

High school girls from exclusive girls' school usually have a different style in speaking Taglish. Some find it very exaggerated. For example: "Really! That's so kaka-awa naman...". This means "Really! That's so sad". Another example, "Gosh, Dianne! That classmate of mine is so pogi and mabait. I hope he makes lambing to me later." This means, "Gosh, Dianne! That classmate of mine is not just handsome but kind. I hope he gets sweeter to me later."

There is no textbook for Taglish. You have to be in the Philippines to learn it.

Another feature about the Philippine culture is the fact that the Filipinos are a deeply religious and God-fearing people. Most of the people in the Philippines are Catholics. Parents and children spend some time to pray together and to go to Church together. Filipinos are a strong people. They can take challenging situations in life in a peaceful and non-complaining manner, entrusting everything to God.

Lastly, one should know that Filipinos are a humorous people. They like laughing a lot over the most trivial matters. Filipinos can laugh and make fun of everything. If ever you visit the country, you will surely be delighted with the Philippine Culture. The humor might be hard to understand, but you will still feel very welcome because of the warmth hospitality that surely will grace you.