Filipinos told to cut the Christmas revelry amid fears of Covid-19 super-spreading events

The country’s biggest holiday is an exuberant combination of Philippine, US, Spanish and Chinese customs and traditions

While there is some complacency as Covid-19 spreads, many are toning down or skipping the festivities to protect their loved ones

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Customers buy Christmas decorations from a Manila street stall in 2018. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:00pm, 30 Nov 2020Updated: 10:57am, 1 Dec 2020

Every year, Gilda Cabrera, 61, and her family of nine gather for Christmas in her Manila home – but this December, there will be no party.

“It’s going to be a silent Christmas,” the retired nutritionist told This Week in Asia. “I will not invite anybody. You don’t know who’s infected.”

Filipinos, now in the ninth month of one of the world´s longest pandemic lockdowns, are facing one more cruel blow: the loss of their biggest holiday.

Few countries make as big a deal about Christmas as the Philippines, where it is also known as Pasko. As early as September, shopping malls start playing carols; a 1960s album by the Ray Conniff Singers is a particular favourite. By that time, if not earlier, tens of thousands of overseas Filipino workers have usually booked flights to take them home for the holidays.

December is a month-long series of noisy revelries. The holiday is an exuberant combination of customs and traditions from Philippine, American, Spanish and Chinese cultures: a melange of Santa Claus, Christmas trees, carolling, star lanterns, midnight masses, late evening feasts and gift packets of cash to godchildren.