Filipino food culture and traditions

The medley of Spanish, American, and Asian flavors tells of the Philippines ’ colonial history and its cultural interactions with its Asian neighbors. There are 175estimated languages spoken in the Philippines. Almost all are classified as Malayo-Polynesian languages. Among those languages, there are indigenous languages with nearly million speakers.

For more than three centuries Spanish was the official language under Spain’s colonial rule. It was spoken by of the population as either a first, second or third language in the early 20th century.

See full list on globalizationpartners. The Philippines is a country that has varied cultural influences. Most of these influences are of previous colonization, deriving mainly from the culture of Spain and the United States. They use various materials to create sound. Settlers from Spain introduced to them a variety of musical instruments like the ukulele, trumpet, drums and violin.

Most of their music is contemporary and they have also learned to write their own songs based on real life events. People are also fond of folklore, which was influenced by the early church and Spanish literature. Spain highly influenced the people to the extent that the Philippines became one of the two predominantly Christian nations in the Asia Pacific, the other being East Timor.

According to , Christianity is the religion of about of the Philippine population (mostly Catholics) while Islam is the religion of , and other religions and beliefs comprise the of the rest of the population. Families and relatives gather on the 24th of December, to celebrate food prepared for “Noche Buena,” a Spanish term which means “midnight meal” to greet Christmas Day. The national sport of the Philippines is called arnis, a form of martial arts.

The basic social unit of the country is the family, which also includes the intermediate family members (aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins) and other outside relations (godparents and close friends). As such, many children have several godparents and when parents are out of the country to work, children are mostly left to the grandparents to watch over them. It is common for members of the same family to work for the same company, a practice which was influenced by the first Chinese settlers in the Philippines. For families in rural areas, they live in a nipa hut which is made of bamboo and roofed with leaves from palm trees or corrugated metal. Filipinos are very fond of music.

They serve rice first followed by the various viands they have grown to eat and cook. They love plain rice matched with salted fish, chicken and meat. They enjoy a variety of sweet foods adopted from other countries which encouraged them to make their own desserts like “mahablanca” a dessert made of coconut milk, corn, sugar, or “puto” and “palitaw” which are also made of coconut milk. They also enjoy eating “halo-halo” for their afternoon snack which means “mixture,” a popular dessert that consists of layers of cornflakes, ice cream, small pieces of gelatin, milk and shaved ice.

During special occasions like a town’s big event i. The melting pot theory that is evident in this culture makes this country a vibrant, exciting and diverse place to live and visit. You may also find some of the following articles and links useful: 1. Creating Culturally Customized Content for Website Translation 2. When There Are No Words: “Translating” from the Heart 3. They believe in many different kinds of customs and follow lots of various traditions.

If you have not been in the Philippines , then you will be left in awe. FIlipinos love to eat and when the food is especially sumptuous, they eat kamayan-style. Many traditions in the Philippines culture go back 100’s of years. The synergy of such diverse traditions coming together is a testament of the strength and adaptability of the filipino people.

Likewise, interactions with nearby and faraway countries throughout history have also helped to shape our culture. Philippines - Philippines - Cultural life: Philippine society is a unique blend of diversity and homogeneity. Although geographically part of Southeast Asia, the country is culturally strongly Euro-American.

Forces of assimilation have constantly worked to overcome cultural differences between the various ethnic groups that are scattered—sometimes in relative isolation—throughout the.