May is a festive month back home. There are fiestas here and there, from big cities to small and rural barrios, almost every week! People throw really big parties to feed friends and even strangers who come from different cities to join in the celebration. You read it right, even if you don’t know the host of the house, you can simply go inside his house and attack the table laden with all sorts of tasty food. I bet the hosts have to shop for wholesale housewares in preparation of these extravagant parties. Here in Prague, celebrations are aplenty too – birthdays, birthdays, birthdaysss! Mine included. My calendar has 7 marked dates, all of which are birthdays!
Anyway, thanks to everyone who sent in their birthday greetings for me. =) And for the rest of the May celebrants, have a happy birthday! Let’s celebrate life!
I wonder what’s in store for me…
Tomorrow is a holiday in Czech Republic so that gives us an extra free day (aside from the usual weekend) to do whatever we want! Yipeee! As you may or may not know, the first of May celebrates the Labor’s Day which is observed in other countries too. However for Czechs, there’s another reason to celebrate and that’s the National Love Day. Couples especially young lovers go to Petrin Hill and kiss under the blooming Cherry trees while others lay flowers in Karel Hynek Mácha’s statue. Mácha was said to be a great Czech romantic poet who wrote the poem Máj (May) which is about the tragic love of two young people.
Statue of Karel Hynek Mácha
Photo credit: Flickr.com
Puto kutsinta
Puto
My cravings for Filipino native delicacies were satiated last Saturday when mom held her yearly Christmas gift-giving with the indigent mothers near our place. She served them puto, puto kutsinta, pichi-pichi and bicho-bicho (and fruit juice to go with it). Yummm! Then she gave out gift bags which contained rice, canned goods and noodles. She also had a raffle of prizes to add to the fun. It wasn’t much but it sure made the mothers happy including mom. What matters most is the willingness of the heart to share. It was her way of sharing God’s bountiful blessings to our family. God bless her!
Bicho-bicho
Pichi-pichi
Cute names they’ve got!
Our Christmas tree.
Our December was jampacked with many family activities, mostly dining out (to eat the Filipino/Negrosanon food we’ve been missing) and shopping. My siblings and their family have been arriving (and leaving) one after another and dad was one busy driver, picking them up (and back) at the airport. After Christmas day, my bro-in-law and nephew flew to Davao while bro #1 and his family returned to Cebu. One day after, my uncle and aunt together with my cousins and kids arrived from Mindanao.
Anyway, on Christmas Eve, the whole family (only M was lacking to complete the family) attended the Mass and when we got home, we partook our Noche Buena food and the gift-giving followed. It lasted until the wee hours of the morning because there were plenty of us! Poor little C; she wasn’t able to join us coz she was already asleep. It was a happy moment to be with family again! The last time we were together was last Christmas 2005 but it wasn’t a happy one because mom was sick then.
Random pics:
Happy faces!
The roasted pig a.k.a. lechon who traveled all the way from Cebu.
Little C bonding with her girl cousins.
Holiday greetings in Ilonggo…
as seen from the facade of the Provincial Capitol building of Negros Occidental.
Translation: (May you have a) merry Christmas and an abundant new year!
Photos taken by Aileen of Digital View Finder.
When kids are asked what their favorite holiday is, most often they would pick Christmas. Aside from their birthdays, Christmas is a special day when they get to receive plenty of gifts especially from Santa Claus who fulfills their Christmas wishes.
Christmas isn’t only a time for gift-giving, it’s also a time for families to celebrate together thus family reunions are common. For those who are far from us, we send them Christmas cards to let them know that we remember and miss them. One of the most popular greeting cards preferred by well-wishers are the personalized cards because they can have their family photos printed there and it would also serve as a souvenir to the recipients. Even the greetings can be customized according to what messages they want to convey to their loved ones. It also shows that extra effort is being put in coming up with the card design, the words, etc.
A good place to order Personalized Christmas Cards is at GalleryCollection.com, a leading publisher of personalized and business holiday cards. They use the finest quality card paper for their custom cards that comes in rich colors,sculpted embossing … There are also many card styles to choose from to match the different tastes of their customers.
One notable fact about this company is that they’re helping the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center with their donation of 800 greeting cards. The donation will go to the “Show Me a Smile” greeting card gift giving program which will hopefully bring smiles to the young patients being treated in the above-mentioned hospital. In a way, you’re also helping these children when you order from GalleryCollection.com. Now that’s a great way to spread the Christmas spirit to everyone especially the children!
This year will be my third to celebrate Christmas in Prague (that’s what I thought). But it might change. Weeee..
Yesterday I sent an email to our family yahoogroup asking everyone’s plan for December. I know my sister in Finland is going home for the Christmas break, but how about the rest? I wanted to know.
Soon their replies came; Asia and Europe responded. I found out all my siblings and their family will be in our hometown on Christmas and even New Year except US! Whaatttt?
Read the rest of this entry »
The birthday girl.
Yesterday was little C’s first birthday. We’re overjoyed as to how this baby turned out to be. She’s such an amusing little girl! She’s very playful lately and teases us a lot. She’d also melt our hearts with her abundant smiles and giggles. Many times I had to bite my own tongue instead of her. Weeeeee!
The pretty bouquet from Marielle.
Anyway I was surprised to receive a bouquet of mixed flowers from a friend. It wasn’t my birthday but I got a present from her! She said it’s a gift for surviving my first year as a mom.
I’ve got plenty to say about how I survived the ordeal in a foreign land but my mind is pretty much drained right now to form my thoughts in a comprehendable fashion. All I can say is, compared to other mother’s experience, thank God little C had no serious health-related problems or accidents that could have worried me to death.
To end this post, let me send out my BIG thanks to ALL – our family and friends who have helped me get through the first year most especially to M, for being such a good dad and husband. We made it! Cheers!
