Tidbits About the Philippines

Hi Breann. Glad you enjoyed looking at the zoo pics. Thank you for your nice note. It's good that you're learning about other countries in school. It is my pleasure to tell you more about my country. I think it would be an interesting topic since I haven't had the chance to write about my country. Here are some random things about the Philippines which I hope you will find interesting. I also made a short slideshow about it for you. Hope my other blog friends will also learn a few things about my country.

Cool Slideshows

• The Philippine flag is symbolized by an eight rayed sun, three golden stars, a red stripe, a blue stripe and a white triangle. The sun represents the beginning of a new era of self determination. The 8 rays on the sun stand for the 8 provinces that rose in revolt against Spanish rule in the late 19th century. The 3 stars stands for the 3 principal geographic areas of the country; Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao.
  
• The Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands. Main island groups are Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Capital is Manila where I was born. If you look closely, you'll see that the map of the Philippines is shaped like a person.


• Two official languages --- Filipino and English. Filipino which is based on Tagalog, is the national language. English is also widely used and is the medium of instruction in higher education.


• We have eight (8) major dialects. I speak two of them: Tagalog and Ilonggo.


• We only have two seasons: wet and dry. The rainy season is from May to November, which is the summer monsoon, while the dry season occurs during the winter monsoon from December to April. Typically, the weather is cool from November to February, while it's very hot and dry from March to May.


• We have a unique public mode of transportation called the jeepney.


• Our national costumes are the barong tagalog (men) and baro't saya (women).


• Throughout the islands, there are fiestas (festivals) celebrated everyday. The fiesta is part and bundle of Filipino culture. Each city and barrio (town) has at least one local festival of its own, usually on the feast of its patron saint, so that there is always a fiesta going on somewhere in the country. You can check this site for a detailed listing of Philippine fiestas.


• The Philippines have many rich and luscious beaches. We have spectacular sunsets.


• Filipinos are best known for their "bayanihan" or spirit of kinship and camaraderie. We also take pride in our close family relations.


• Filipinos are generally fun-loving people. Hospitality is a common denominator in the Filipino character and this is what distinguishes the Filipino.

References:
http://www.tourism.gov.ph/discover/facts.asp
http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/philippines/about_philippines.htm http://www.filipinoheritage.com/customs_traditions/fiesta/fiesta_philippines.htm http://www.philsite.net/philippinefiesta.htm