We Filipinos celebrate the longest Christmas season in the whole world. Christmas is ushered in — no, not by the rumors if there’s any or how much is the Christmas bonus — but by the Misa de Gallo or Simbang Gabi, which is from December 16 to 24, with the 25th being the Misa de Aguinaldo, the final Christmas mass. While the Christmas season official starts with the Simbang Gabi, preparations for Christmas start as early as the first “ber” month — September. The celebration lasts until the feast of the Three Kings, which is on January 6 (incidentally, there are plenty of declared holidays in December).

 

There are probably two general groupings for those who would want to complete the 9-day Simbang Gabi, resisting the urge to sleep, made more difficult by the cold nights — the devout Catholics and those who believe a wish is granted if the 9 days are completed. Still, regardless of which group you’re in, you’d probably enjoy the traditional Philippine Christmas delicacies — bibingka, puto bumbong and tsokolate — served, for a fee, of course, around the church area.

A large part of the Christmas celebration is the food, which is probably why slimming centers are booked during the first quarter of every year. Even for those on a diet, the Christmas season serves as a convenient excuse to pig out — hamon, lechon, pancit, fried chicken, lumpia, rice, adobo, rice cakes, puto bumbong, ice cream and everything under the sun, except fruit cake. It’s really a wonder why almost nobody seems to like fruit cakes, but almost everybody gets it.

If you think the gorging on food and pigging out ends on December 25 with the noche buena, think again. The eating spree lasts until “media noche” or the midnight meal on New Year’s Eve, which is December 31. In addition to all the food mentioned above, the media noche table is usually complete with 12 fruits that are round, which is for good luck. Oranges, watermelons, lychees, peaches, grapes, and, yes, apples will do. You’ll notice that prices for these fruits skyrocket before New Year. Now, how do you chase out evil spirits? Fireworks and firecrackers. That’s one great way to end the year with a bang.

Among employers and corporations, many would be concerned with corporate giveaways (aside from the usual concern about 13th month pay and Christmas bonus). For the rest of us, many have already started, even this early, their Christmas shopping for gifts and Christmas decorations (how about candles?). In fact, a number of searches already reached the Pinoy Entrepreneurs regarding Christmas shopping ("Christmas Shopping Tips").

You may have noticed that everything discussed above are expense items. Everybody loves Christmas and it appears that everybody loves to spend even with the trying economic times. Christmas celebration is very near, and with great celebration comes great spending. This spending spree, while not good in certain aspects (see "Christmas Savings and Spending Resolutions for the New Year"), is a potential that should be tapped into by Pinoy Entrepreneurs.