Christmas Day 2012!!

One of the biggest differences in celebrating Christmas here versus home in the US, is that as a family,  on Christmas Day, we really focus on why we celebrate Christmas--Christ's birth.

Breakfast (leftovers from New Years' Eve, with rice)

Here, it was a little different--with no snow on the ground, Christmas is not limited to the Winter season, but is truly celebrated for most of the year, starting with decorations coming out in September. It is celebrated so many times--especially at church, with the main focus being the Real Reason, that by the time Christmas Day rolls around, it is more a day for celebration that everyone is here, and not somewhere else working. Filipinos LOVE to give, and focus a lot on giving to others, especially charity-wise, and maybe since we were all adults at the Serisola home, and truly knew the Reason for Christmas, and talked about it a lot, it didn't need such emphasizing as we normally do at home??

Another difference is that most Filipinos still have to work on Christmas Day, and so they celebrate it at night, similar to what we in America do for New Years. However, they also celebrate New Years the same way, (though by the time New Years came around, it almost seemed like people were getting tired--a lot of late nights!!--and so it wasn't as big for us. =)

Christmas Day, we had a yummy breakfast (mostly leftovers from last night) , and then packed up more leftovers to bring to the Farm. A little before lunch, we all headed out to the Farm, to check on how harvesting the rice fields were going. We visited the landowners there (as the Serisolas leased the land), gave them some food, and went on to visit other folks, while a few of the men went to find buyers for the Rice.

Jim Harris and Sylvette's Rice Farm

Sylvette and I with the landowner's grand daughter

I can kill spiders no problema, but with having mostly poisonous spiders at home, let's just say that holding one was a huge (if not slightly petrifying) triumph. And teasing me that it was actually poisonous did NOT help matters... Not sure why they enjoyed my reaction so much!! ;P

Rice drying in the field

Dried rice sheaves being gathered in piles

One of their workers carrying a bundle (reminded me of Joseph's dream!)

All-in-all, when we came home that evening, we had done quite some visiting, and gotten all the rice sold.

Christmas night, I gave everyone my presents (as they gave all their's a few days previous--so they could enjoy them on the day =p). Then, we had a splendid Seafood Dinner of Clams, Oysters Seaweed, etc. Delish!! (My first time too!!)

Sago (Tapioca) salad I made, with condensed milk. The colored things are extracts of  the Coconut and Palm Fruit...delicious! (Email me for the recipe! You can get everything to make this, at a True Asian store!!)

Delicious seaweed and veggies! One of my favorites.

Clams

Oysters

We made a Coconut dessert, and this is how the boys shredded the coconut...it was actually a welded apparatus for it...kinda cool!!

 It was really, truly a wonderful Christmas. Most unique, but very memorable, and I am so grateful that I was able to participate in it.