The Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) celebrates the spirit of the most vibrant holiday in the country, Paskong Pinoy, with tidbits on all things Christmas from the latest edition of the CCP Encyclopedia of the Philippine Art (CCP EPA).
YOUR GATEWAY TO PHILIPPINE ARTS
Considered as the most authoritative and comprehensive source of information on Philippine art and culture, the CCP EPA has over 5,000 articles meticulously gathered by over 500 respected scholars, experts, researchers, and writers from leading universities and research institutions.
The print edition consists of 12 volumes covering the peoples of the Philippines, architecture, visual arts, film, music, dance, theater, broadcast arts, and literature. The digital edition (CCP EPAD) also contains all the 5,000 articles and more than 5,000 photos of the print edition, with hundreds of video excerpts from plays, dances, and music performances, all sourced from the vast video archives of the CCP.
The first edition of the EPAD was published in 1994, and the second one in 2018.
True to the CCP’s mandate to make art matter to every Filipino, the CCP EPA is not just an encyclopedia, but an invaluable record of the Filipinos’ artistic contributions to the world.
ALL ABOUT PASKONG PINOY
This holiday, CCP gives the gift of knowledge and shares some excerpts on the Christmas traditions and music articles from the CCP EPA:
CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS
Pastores, from Spanish pastores meaning “shepherds,” is a dramatization of the shepherds’ adoration of the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem, usually presented in the days just before Christmas or on Christmas Eve; it can also refer to a band of singers dressed as shepherds who perform Christmas songs and dances from house to house during the Christmas season.
Tatlong Hari —literally, “Three Kings” in Tagalog—is a Christmastide custom centering on the Three Magi who, according to tradition, traveled from the East to adore the Infant Jesus in Bethlehem.
In its original meaning, the Villancico is a Spanish musico-poetic song form consisting of coplas (stanzas) linked by an estribillo (refrain). Villancicos became songs for Mass Proper (entrance, offertory, communion, and so on) in the Misa de Aguinaldo (nine-day dawn Masses), which starts on 16 December to honor the Virgin. It is also sung in the Misa de Gallo (midnight Mass) on Christmas Eve, together with the Mass Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, and so on)—that is, the Misa Pastorela.
HOLIDAY MUSIC
Simbanggabi (Dawn Mass), the favorite competition piece at local Christmas choral music competitions by National Artist for Music Lucio San Pedro, was composed in October 1963 in Angono, Rizal. It was dedicated to the Ateneo Glee Club, then an all-male group conducted by Vicente Sales in the early 1960s, and the oldest university choir.
Ang Pasko ay Sumapit (Christmas is Here)’s original text in 1933 was first written in Cebuano, “Kasadya Ning Takna-a” by lyricist Mariano Vestil before National Artist for Music and Literature Levi Celerio translated it to Tagalog. The song’s beginnings may be traced to celebrating the Cebuano feast of the Pili-Kanipaan in December, where the most popular forms of entertainment were light musical plays.
Pasko Na Naman (It’s Christmas Once Again), created in 1965 by National Artist for Music Felipe Padilla de Leon and National Artist for Music and Literature Levi Celerio is commonly used as a final song for the misa de aguinaldo or dawn mass.
While Pasko Na, Sinta Ko (It’s Christmas, My Love) was famously sung and recorded by Gary Valenciano in 1986, this hit song expressing longing for a lost love at Christmas time was first performed by Traders Royal Bank Chorale in 1976. Original music credits belong to Francis Dandan, Aurelio Estanislao for lyrics and National Artist for Music Lucio San Pedro for arrangement.
Christmas in Our Hearts is the track single for the best selling album in original Pilipino music (OPM) history, Jose Mari Chan’s Christmas in Our Hearts. The album was given Double Diamond status in 2006, the only album to be thus awarded by the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI). According to Universal Records, which distributed the album, this meant a sale of more than 600,000 copies as of December that year. The song features a duet between Chan and his daughter, Liza celebrating the simple joys of a Filipino Christmas.
Interested to learn more? Subscribe to the CCP EPAD through its official website (https://epa.culturalcenter.gov.ph/encylopedia), with rates starting from P75 per month to P675 per year.
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