The month of December for Filipinos is a privileged season to gather as a family, with relatives, friends, colleagues, to celebrate Christmas. Philippines celebrates the longest Christmas season, as filipinos put up decorations when the “ber” months start. Bukas Palad usually celebrates several Christmas parties: with parents and children of the Support at a Distance Program, with the BPLC Bukas Palad Learning Community, with the surrounding communities, and with the staff. But unfortunately the pandemic has put this tradition on hold! Nevertheless, after two years we finally celebrated our first online Christmas party! Children and families participated creatively, preparing their artistic presentations (dances, songs, music), recording them in advance and sending them as a contribution to the party. Everyone could enjoy the presentations of the various local communities, and this helped to make everyone feel closer, despite the limits inflicted by the pandemic.
In addition to the various parties, the recurrence is also celebrated with the traditional Christmas Eve dinner called “Noche Buena”. Thanks to your contributions, we were able to reach more than 700 poor families with a special “Christmas bundle”, just a day before Typhoon Odette struck Cebu City. A special thank you to The Noche Buena Project team (www.facebook.com/TheNocheBuenaProject) for their contribution! We are delighted in being able to help so many families to spend a joyful Christmas!
