If you’re a Filipino, you’ll know what the ‘ber’ season means!
We’re well and truly into it now, considering we’re halfway through November. Yep, Christmas season is well underway in some parts of the world. If you’re one of those people that shun it, specifically in bustling cities that start their full-on decorations and music blaring from speakers not noticed before (often around as early as October) then maybe you should keep scrolling.
I mean – that’s what it used to be like? Around here things still seem to be pretty low-key compared to previous years when suddenly October was a good reason in any CBD to start targeting Christmas shopaholics. Maybe Covid has put its own spin on it since the global economic downturn. But then again, we’re told that in New Zealand we are definitely not in a recession (no matter how hard some people have it and inflation just doesn’t seem to go away) and we should feel positive about the economy. We’ll see. Or maybe, since we’ve become more cosmopolitan in recent years with local businesses now embracing Halloween and have waited for the Halloween buzz to finish.
Anyhow, we were well and truly into ‘Covid season’ when Food, festivity, and Filipino family values by Katie Stone was first written in December 2021. And somehow, it seems that the ‘ber’ season is well and truly alive!
‘Ber’ season starts in September in the Philippines. Yes, with Christmas songs, decorations and Christmas trees adorning every street, including nativity scenes. And just because December is followed by a ‘non-ber’ month, the Christmas spirit and decorations continue to shine for months after. If you love it, maybe a good reason for a ‘ber’ holiday?
You can find out what it was like for Vanessa in her home country, and how it has changed her traditional Christmas food and family celebrations now she’s in New Zealand in Food Views from around the world.
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