It’s that time of the year again when the world anticipates a new year; and for many the celebration of Christmas or yuletide. We’ve become more familiar with the Western traditions of celebrating Christmas, what with popular media and its old and new Christmas-themed movies that tries to invoke the holiday spirit in each of us. In Southeast Asia, celebrating Christmas is uniquely meshed with local cultures.
Read on to find out how Christmas or the holiday is celebrated in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Singapore.
As a widely Catholic country, many Filipinos attend simbang gabi (night mass), a nine-day series of dawn masses culminating on Christmas Eve. (Photo from CNS photo/Erik De Castro, Reuters)
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For Christmas in Bali, churches and Christians decorate their homes with 'Penjor'. (Photo from iStock)
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Motorists in Vietnam dress up as ‘Ông già Noel’ (Santa Claus) (Photo from Associate Press)
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Christmas at Orchard Road, Singapore (Photo from iStock)
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Do you want to contribute to this article? Or, have something you want to share about the Southeast Asian cultures? Send us a message at manila@asiasociety.org
The Asia Society Philippines team is composed of diverse individuals whose interests converge with bringing the Asia Society Philippines vision to life. Learn more about the team here.
