With only a few days away from the most wonderful time of the year, the streets are already bright with sparkling lights and the air is filled with Christmas music.
Time flies so fast we can’t help but wonder: Hasn’t been only a few months ago that we were enjoying our time under the summer sun?
And just how fast the time flies, so does technology.
Technological innovations have helped us in many different ways, more notably in making our tasks easier and more convenient to do. Aside from enabling us to communicate with people from miles away or hail a cab through our smartphones, these digital aids also help in celebrating our well-loved Christmas traditions.
Here’s how some digital apps help keep our Filipino Christmas traditions alive, and—this goes without saying—much more convenient.
Monito monita
Filipinos take the season of giving seriously, as aside from exchanging gifts during Christmas parties and on Christmas Day, we have a pre-Christmas gift-giving tradition called Monito monita.
This is usually done within a group of friends, classmates, or officemates wherein they exchange gifts based on the agreed theme or price.
But did you know that you and your friends can do Monito monita even when you’re far away from each other? A software application called Elfster helps long-distance friends conduct Monito Monita remotely.
The app features a universal wish list, an anonymous Q&A section, personalized gift recommendations, activity updates, and forum discussions. Elfster will do the job of choosing a random gift receiver for each user. Then users can see their friend’s wish list and ask them questions anonymously.
Christmas caroling
Once the dawn Masses or Simbang Gabi begins, carolers, usually young kids, armed with handmade musical instruments made of bottle caps and tin cans, go around the neighborhood to sing famous Christmas songs. “Sa May Bahay ang Aming Bati” and “Pasko Na Naman” are popular choices.
Well, level up your game kids. With the help of music streaming platforms like Spotify and iTunes, you can update your playlist and sing your hearts out as you play traditional and foreign Christmas songs with the help of a smart mobile device and speaker.
Maybe this year you will not hear the word “patawad” anymore.
Simbang Gabi
Simbang Gabi is a devotional nine-day series of Masses held at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning from December 16 to 24. According to historians, Simbang Gabi is held at dawn to allow farmers to hear the Mass before they begin their day’s work.
For some Filipinos, it has become a cherished custom to complete the nine-day masses. But for those who might miss a Mass because of busy schedule or other reasons, they can now “attend” it through live streams available online.
Since 2017, YouTube channels Philippine Daily Mass and Sambuhay TV Mass have been live streaming Simbang Gabi Masses for those who cannot join the Mass in the church.
Gift-giving
Filipinos are known for having a long list of inaanaks or godchildren, which means ninongs (godfathers) and ninangs (godmothers) are now starting to wrap gifts or amass crisp 100-peso bills.
To all the ninangs and ninongs out there, here’s for you: Prepare your gifts and surprise your godchildren with the help of logistics company like Lalamove and WeeXpress. For those who still prefer to give money, there’s PayMaya, GCash, and Paypal that lets you send pamasko to your inaanaks.
Noche Buena
In many Filipino households, noche buena is considered the most important meal shared together with the whole family. It’s a feast on the table, complete with spaghetti, chicken barbecue, lechon, fruit salad, hamón, and queso de bola, among a variety of other favorite holiday fares.
Sure, indulging in delectable dishes is great, but sometimes, preparing them can be exhausting, not to mention tedious. For those who want to prepare a spread without a sweat, Honestbee, FoodPanda, Eatigo, and GrabFood are there to help in putting food on the table. No more cooking, just booking.
When the table is set, what’s left are the people partaking of it. Family members who can’t be at home to share this Christmas meal with their loved ones can now do it virtually with the help of video call via Messenger, Skype, Viber, FaceTime, or Google Hangouts.
