EasterPosted by Bybie Breuer 2008-03-20 10:22:53The Christian Year: Advent, which begins, on the Sunday closest to November 30, is a four-week period of penitence and preparation for the nativity at Christmas (December 25). Christmas is celebrated in the Eastern Church at Epiphany (January 6), linked with the baptism of Jesus; in being shown to the three wise men. In the West, the 50-day period before Easter, called Lent – a time of spiritual self-examination and, traditionally, fasting – begins on Ash Wednesday and marks the period of Christ's temptations in the desert. Good Friday (marking the crucifixion of Christ) and Easter (his resurrection) are followed 40 days later by Ascension Day, and ten days after that, by Pentecost (Whit Sunday). During the medieval period many other festivals connected with the Virgin Mary and the various saints were added.
Celestial changes have inspired festivals in every culture. Equinox and Solstice celebrations mark sowing of see, growth of crops and harvest; New Year festivities symbolize to "begin" again. In the Christians calendar, the 40-day period between carnival and Easter is balanced by the 40-day period between Easter and Ascension, and New Year's Eve falls exactly between Christmas Eve and Twelfth Night. In the same way that rites of passage order transitions in a person's life, thus society mirrors the cycles of nature.
It is that time of the year again that Easter chocolates and Easter bunnies comes in all sizes and flavors. As we all know that chocolates are exotic and it arouses passions and it's adored by most women. We do love to give it, we certainly loves to receive it, but more than anything else – we absolutely love to eat it. And with Easter just around the corner we become overwhelmed by the sight of it in such abundance. Chocolate was strictly forbidden to women and was considered an aphrodisiac by the Aztecs. but time have changed over the years because chocolate is the food that we most do crave.
But Easter is all about so much more than chocolates, eggs, Easter bunnies and holidays. Easter is all about Love and Hope no matter what our beliefs is. These sentiments may get lost in all that hype, but just take a few moments to look at how Love and Hope have got us all through our own personal situations in the past.
Happy Easter To All !!!!!!..... And enjoy this very special time of year.
Greetings from the team …….
Babes CottagePosted by Bybie Breuer 2007-11-20 09:07:54CHRISTMAS
MAAYONG PASKO – MALIGAYANG PASKO – MERRY CHRISTMAS
PEACE And JOY is the Christmas concept over the Christmas season throughout the world. Christmas is a time for families, for sharing, for giving, fun and friendship, a time for food for family and friends, a time to celebrate the most joyful of holidays, for singing festive and sacred songs, where everyone wishes good cheers and glad tidings.
The word “Christmas” means “Mass of Christ”, later shortened to “Christ – Mass.” The even shorter form “X – Mass” –first used in Europe in the 1500s is derived from the Greek alphabet, in which X is the first letter of Christ’s name: Xristos, therefore “X-Mass”.
Pasko is Pascua in Spanish and is the most awaited and the best loved celebrations by the Filipino people. Due to its long Christian traditions – Christmas is a very important part of the Filipino culture and the Filipino people has one of the most interesting traditions in the world of observing the Christmas holidays and the longest in the Christian world. The beginning as early as September and ending of the “Feast of the Three Kings”, the first Sunday in January, (Three Kings Day) which marks the end of Christmas season.
Christmas in the Philippines is a mixture of western and native Filipino traditions. Christmas is in the air the minute the first “ber” month (September) arrives. During this time of the year Christmas tunes are already played, the displays of Christmas trees, sending of Christmas cards, Christmas ornaments, the dressing up of the retail shops and shopping malls, restaurants and the market places, streets in both the rural and urban areas, and the happy smiles of everyone young and old is a must to see.
The Philippines is the only Asian country where Christians predominate. Majority of its people are Roman Catholic and Christmas is extremely an important holiday and the Filipino people are proud to proclaim their Christmas celebration to be the longest and merriest in the world. It is celebrated accordingly with the splendid climate, the abundance and the beauty of the bloom of its flowers, the poinsettias, the extravagant landscapes, and the multitude of its culinary delights.
The Filipino Christmas decorations is a must and abundant and beautiful. The Christmas lanterns (pah-role) or star lantern is made out of bamboo sticks and colorful Japanese papers is the symbol of Christmas representing the guiding light, the star of Bethlehem and is very unique in the Philippines. The colored lights on every houses and streets, on parks are so stunning to look at, and these are various symbols of Christmas and the figures of the Holy Family in the manger.
CRHISTMAS formally begins on December 16 with the attendance at the first dawn of nine consecutive pre-dawn masses. People are up in the chill dark before dawn to go to church which is called the “Misa de Gallo”, (Mass at Cocks’ Crow) or “Simbang Gabi”, the mass before dawn. This is followed by native breakfast with the hot piping chocolate drink (sikwate) that goes well with puto (steamed glutinous rice with coconut cream, budbud pilit-suman (glutinous rice with coconut cream) wrapped with banana leaves and steamed and so delicious eaten with ripe mangoes.
As the last mass of Simbang Gabi is attended on December 24, then the preparation begins for Noche Buena “Esta Noche es noche Buena, y no es noche para dormer”, means this night is a good night, and not a night for sleeping. Everyone awaits the midnight mass followed by the most important repast of the year. Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve is also called Misa de Aguinaldo and aguinaldo means gift. Noche Buena is very much like an open house celebration. It is a midnight dinner where the dinner table is proudly displayed with many of the festive food. Food is a must for these joyful celebrations whether it is a simple or lavish display of different kinds. ….as if there is no tomorrow, I remember my mother saying these words. As everyone begins arriving home after the midnight mass the little ones are awakened from their sleep and the food is brought out on the table and the festivities begin. The feasting continues throughout the day and the volume of the variety of food prepared for Noche Buena is tremendous. The famous traditional ones are the puto, bibingka, beko, gulaman, puto bungbong, suman, etc. Or you can savor all the yuletide favorites, the Christmas ham, the roast turkey queso de bola (ripened ball cheese), rellenong manok (stuffed boneless chicken) the castanas (roasted chestnuts), fruit salad, leche flan, macaroni salad, cakes and sweets and the traditional fruit cake is a derivative of the Christmas pudding which is made of raisins, dates nuts and candied fruit and the generous helping of brandy and rum sauce that goes well with the Christmas puds.
And the Christmas lunches in other countries and around the Christmas dinner with the traditional Christmas meals with Christmas ham and a variety of roast meats and poultry, roast vegetables and fresh green salads and fresh fruits. Among the typical foods prepared are the lechon, pancit barbecue and lumpia.
ON CHRISTMAS DAY family and friends, relatives and neighbours drop by to wish…Maayong Pasko…. Maligayang Pasko…. Merry Christmas. This day is a very popular day for children to visit their godparents, their uncle and aunts. And each visit they art presented with gifts, usually money, candies, toys etc.
A Christmas celebration in every country is different because of the weather. Christmas down under is never white and it is so special for it is summer holiday season. The “Kiwis” or New Zealanders are actually the first ones to really celebrate the joyous day of Christmas. It is the first country immediately west of the international date line. And the most of our American and European friends have to wait an extra day for Christmas. But wherever we are during this festive season we all are able to appreciate culturally the diverse Christmas celebrations. The customs and traditions are kept among us Filipinos living elsewhere in the world. The simbang gabi, the midnight mass on Christmas Eve expresses the faith of Filipinos who hold the same core belief as all Christians, that God is present in human history. The bells offer a message of Hope in God and of hope for Peace on Earth.
May you enjoy all the beauty, warmth and tradition of this wonderful season, “MERRY CHRISTMAS” around the WORLD. God Bless Us All.
Greetings and best wishes,
From the team of the naga-cebu website.
Babes CottagePosted by Bybie Breuer 2007-10-11 02:09:50I welcome you all to Babes Cottage and feel free to pop-in. For a long time we had lost touch with our homeland, the changes and the progress it had made, it is bacause we did not have time or the inclination to write a letter back home and our family, relations and freinds were the same. So, through this website we will bring you all closer to home. Thanks to the webmaster who took me on board. I must say how much I have been enjoying visiting the website and I had so much pleasure posting in the forum section, and am always interested in hearing new things. We at the city of Naga website are so delighted with the support of our fellow Naganians who visits the site and to those who keep on sending photos, and my special thanks goes to Kris Paca.
Forum proves to be very popular with different topics of issues from in-and-around the city of Naga, council news. life's experiences: past and present and many more. And the members of the forum have always come up with spell binding true and interesting stories about the best that humanity has to share. Reading all the issues and the replies respectively the positives have come out far outweighs the negatives. The Administrators team are so impressed with the continuing progress being made and to those who put that little extra effort and time to visit and sign the guestbook and to all the members of the forum we are absolutely thrilled to have got this far-and we couldn't have done this without you.....Mr. Ben Gilsing and your family.
I open the website daily with anticipation.....why not make it a part of your daily routine..... and drop a few lines in Babes Cottage..... or consider signing-in in the forum section and amuse yourselves with a lot of interesting topics. See you all soon in my cottage and in the Forum.
"I believe that freindship don't just happen. You have to work at them".
The act of givingPosted by Marilyn 2007-10-03 21:34:58To start off, all of you who have been visiting our City of Naga website probably wonder why in the guestbook, certain students (few students) who wrote and made essays, leave their messages, as a way of thanks to specific persons in the guestbook. To avoid confusion, here is the step –by-step explanation to that, firstly way back of May 2007 when the website starts its operation, a week after I inform my sister (a school teacher of NNHS) to tell and inform students of the City of Naga website, of course the students were happy, that finally our city has a website, the only problem is, they told my sister none of them owns a computer at home and if they want to access a computer, they have to go to internet cafes situated /located at Saint Frances Park. In order to get an access to computers, it will cost them between 20 pesos/ 30 pesos an hour and they simply can not afford it. Majority of the students only gets 10 pesos pocket money from their parents, only just enough for snack. Upon hearing this, we felt terrible and came-up with a very simple idea, rang and talked to my sister (Nahtie) told her to make announcements in the class that the very first five students that will visit the website will receive a small gift from us, all they have to do is write and leave a message in the guestbook, therefore we would know whose students will get the small prize, days after that, indeed students visit the website and leave messages in the guestbook. The small amount helps the students in a lot of ways, to be able to use the facility in internet cafes and a bit of pocket money.
Then the next idea (next stunt) that came into our mind is the essays, Ben Gilsing announced it in the guestbook (if some of you visit the web on regular basis would have probably read it) that who can come up with an essay will be rewarded. All schools of Naga (elementary and high-schools) are welcome to participate. The title of the essay is: Why is Naga The Best Place To Live (now its City of Naga). It had to be a decent essay consisting of 300 to 500 words. And whoever can come up with a decent essay with these simple requirements will get a small prize from us. I will tell you all a little later why we are doing this, as I go along. Not long after the essay writing announcement, Tiny Alferez (foreign correspondent of the web from New Zealand) came up with an idea of his own. Who is the Prettiest Girl in NNHS and SSN, Tiny made his announcement in the forum, but no one came forward to claim the prize, we all knew the reason why students are shy. Now the fun begins, as soon as Cathy C. Lara (from California US) visited the web, the essay writing caught her eye and in an instance, she made an announcement in the guestbook, that she will give the award or prize to the essays of SSN (since she graduated high school there), but unfortunately as weeks went by none (students) from SSN came up with essays. Finally Cathy decided to give the prize instead to the students that me and Ben had chosen The said essays are already been posted in the website, we choose the longest ones because the longest essays requires time and more effort is put into them. So, if you want to know who gets the prize for the essay writing, go to the homepage of City of Naga website and the category essay, you will see who they are. Before I go any further, Ted Mendiola from Canada offer to give a prize as well, babes2u (from New Zealand) also made the same offer, but I told them this coming December, since its Christmas, we will have another essay writing contest with the title: Why Is Christmas The Best Time of the Year?
Now, lets go back to Cathy, who offered to give her prize instead to NNHS students since no one from SSN came up with an essay. She told us that her mom (also from California) would be in Philippines 2nd week of Sept. and the unexpected gift or prize for the 3 students, would be handed by her mom personally. Lets go to the day itself, when Letty Coloyan showed up in NNHS school, my sister was in the middle of discussions or lessons with her students, when someone at the door said, Letty Coloyan is around and wants to talk to Nahtie Libor (I informed my sister, that Letty will be in school sometime in September so she was already aware of it). Quickly, she stepped out of the classroom, Nahtie and Mrs. Coloyan talked briefly, then they located the whereabouts of the 3 students, which classrooms they were at that moment, then finally Mrs. Coloyan met the 2 students, unfortunately, the third student was not there. When Mrs. Coloyan handed them the present, in the presence of Nahtie and the principal, they were so happy and surprised at the same time. Photos were taken, when the gift was handed to them. Not long after Mrs. Coloyan left, my sister handed the present to the third student, Noel, on behalf of Mrs. Coloyan and a photo was taken as well, sis. Nahtie will send the photo to us later on. We will be able to put a picture of themselves next to their essay.
Here is the after effect after receiving the prize from Cathy and her mom. Friends and classmates in school surrounded the 3 awardees, out of curiosity they wanted to know what gift they got. I am not going to tell or reveal the presents without Cathy’s consent (or else suspense and mystery are gone) The funny thing is, the next day , sis.Nahts heard from students, that the 3 awardees were not going to change their U.S. dollar yet, they reckoned it was the first time ever in their life they got to hold foreign money. Last but not least, prior to Mrs. Coloyans arrival, Tiny give Noel a small gift as well.
Amazing! How far kindness can do, a little of help will go far. Actually, its only small prizes involved, because by handing out big prizes, you will cause chaos and commotion in school. So, big prizes are a no-no. Unbelievable! A chain reaction of kindness. Here’s a simple explanation and reasons as to why we are giving these small prizes for essay writing:
1. To improve their English language skills.
2. To gain more knowledge in computer skills.
3. To motivate them mentally.
4. Essay writing will help them build their self esteem
5. To give them confident within themselves
6. Inspirational for students, to see their essays get published.
7. Give them a positive outlook in life, knowing that someone cares.
8. The small amount of prize money given to them can be used to gain more access to internet facilities, as they have to pay for it themselves
A helping hand will stretch you far. One of the so many quest that we wrestle at this day in age, with the society were living in, is to live unselfishly. It is like a tug of war to some people who acquire wealth, to fall into the pit of selfishness, unashamedly focusing only on themselves. The me, me, me and the heck with the rest. The act of giving is satisfying and so rewarding, you get more joy in your heart in any way possible, when you live to give a helping hand. Be considerate and show kindness and seek to do well. Now and then be on a lookout to share a bit of what you have. Speak with love and compassion in your heart, try to give what you can do for somebody else, you can’t treat people poorly and expect blessings to come your way. We must learn to be a giver not a taker.
Marilyn
Thought of the dayPosted by Marilyn 2007-09-20 19:08:29MABUHAY!! “CITY OF NAGA”
Mabuhay, is a command word in a Pilipino verb “LIVE” it is also a form of a wish “May You Live”. Whoever wishes upon you with this word “mabuhay” in any occasion, it means: welcome, congratulations, hello, cheers and many other expressions of goodwill. “Mabuhay is a celebration of life itself……..MABUHAY!..........CITY OF NAGA…..
The up-coming fiesta, October 9 & 10 is in honor of our patron Saint Francis de Assisi. And also to celebrate the proclamation of Naga as a city. It is surely going to be a huge celebration. Certainly, “A Place To Be” on this big occasion.
A huge task ahead for our mayor Mr. Val Chiong…….as a city, all these details of planning on big or small scale, will be a great challenge on his part. Surely at times it can get stressful. He has plans to make our city into a progressive industrial city. With sufficient infrastructure and improvements on the roads, sanitation etc. He will be modernizing “Our City of Naga” in accordance with the look-at-its-best strategy. This whole process requires time and funding is an issue. But with his skills, brainpower and determination, I’m 110% confident, he’ll succeed.
To foreigners and all Naganians, who acquire residency abroad, next time you’re in our city for a visit or extended stay, spare some time for exploring & venturing our pristine countryside as well….outskirts of the city, we are blessed by mother nature with a unique variation of panoramic scenery, that is extraordinary. If there’s Mount Everest, our city has mount Magduk (just kidding). Actually there’s nothing wrong climbing Magduk….the lookout….panoramic overview of our city, excellent for taking pictures….give it a go, climb those hills , explore with family & friends.
But don’t venture too far and definitely not on your own. Try to make your holiday fun, unusual and adventurous.
In our experience, the best way to spend your holiday is to savour in the little things. For us (me & family) the best thing to do is to enjoy our park by the baywalk. Especially towards late afternoon till night. I can still remember in my vivid imagination, sitting by the baywalk, what a relaxing atmosphere. The setting , the echo of the waves, enjoying the cool breeze of the summer nights. It is the embodiment of perfection.
I’ll enlighten you with my opinion on more topics at a later date.
Mabuhay!
Thought of the dayPosted by Marilyn 2007-09-12 23:41:16Indeed, 2007 is a gigantic year for our community. September 2, 2007 to be precise is going to be a notable month & date of every year. The community all of us Naganians/Naganhons we all were born bred & raised, the most awaited moment finally came, our calm cool place was re-born and proclaim a city. This year and the year ahead will be filled with an overwhelming challenges mayor Val Chiong has to face head on as months go by and even more as the new year approaches. He has a lot of choices to make, challenges to meet, assessing the essentials towards the direction of leading our city as one of the best city in the Philippines. Shall I say, simplify our city to a complete make-over by developing it into a progressively a better place to live for the whole community to enjoy. To start with a spic & span cleanliness and sanitation are the key ingredients, this is a must and above all utmost necessary to enhance our city. Residents should also take part, by owning part of the responsibilities, meaning in every street where they lived, they should also be accountable in keeping it clean, make it a point that no one litters and throw-away rubbish anywhere. In my opinion, our city can be by far more better, if the city council will not only focus in the city center itself, but pay attention on what was happening outskirts of the city as well. Cleanliness and sanitation for the resident’s day-to-day living wherever we go and venture in and around our city and nearby villages are essentially necessary. We all leave it to our city mayor to navigate our community, he has the drive & determination. His aim to pursue relentlessly and his vision to give our city a sleek new look has to be commended….so far the untold development and progress our city mayor has done, continues to be inspirational and his vision for enhancing it, never ceases to amaze me. Our honorable mayor Val Chiong, deserves an acknowledgement for a job well done. So, Naganians watch out! Our city is heading towards a sunnier, brighter & progressive community that we all can be proud of. City of Naga surely is, The Place To Be.
Till then....Marilyn
Ideas for the websitePosted by Ben Gilsing 2007-06-26 13:18:59A couple of days ago we put the forum online and as of today it is open to anyone who wants to have their say. If there are any more forum items that need to be added please let us know so that we can work on that. As of today we have also achieved another milestone with our website. We are rated no 2 if you look us up under google. I think that this is largely to thank to all you folks who have been (and hopefully will continue) visiting us.
What are our next objectives? First of all to get to the no 1 spot. Then start with the expansion of the part where schools can get actively involved. With this I mean to say that schools can start to publish exceptional essays by students, have pictures of activities put on their pages, publish upcoming events etc. This will take some time to set up but i think that we can make this a showcase for the community.
What I am looking for at the moment is old pictures from Naga, I mean like 20 or so years old that we can publish. These pictures can contain people, buildings, events well just about anything. If possible with names but if you want to remain annonimous that is ok too. This one is also a call to our overseas visitors to see if they still have some old photos lying around. Just mail them to:
administrator@naga-cebu.com
We will make sure that they will be put on the site.
Thanks for all your support so far and we hope you will continue doing so.
Thought of the dayPosted by Raecene 2007-06-16 23:46:25Well it's my first time posting here since I've been too wrapped up in final exams of 2nd year uni, but I've taken some time to address an important topic.
First off, you might be wondering what this post has to do with Naga or why I'm using this medium to transmit my message. There is one simple clarification for all of this. We hope this website will be a great source of information for all of Naga and the world beyond Naga's borders. All this won't be possible without a maximum amount of effort and hard work. There is no one who invests as much time and brainpower into this website as my father, Ben Gilsing.
So I believe that he deserves to be acknowledged for this incredible achievement on the web. But above all he deserves credit for the wonderful guy that he is! So here goes:
Dear Dad,
I want you to know how much you mean to me. But this time I've decided to drop all limitations and let the whole world know it.
You are a constant source of inspiration to me. I've never once had a doubt which values to hold true to, or which path in life to follow, because the path had already been paved by you. I would be so proud of myself if I can follow your great example, and one day grow into someone with as strong a character as you have.
But besides just being a great rolemodel, you are also the best dad a girl could wish for. Even now that I'm slightly grown up already, I still don't think I could make it without you and mommy. Everytime I decide I want to do something (be it a hobby I took up, or a study/carreer decision) you are there to back me up. You are my support-system, always cheering me on, never holding me back.
I still remember when I was little you would pick me up if I stumbled, I may be older now and I might not stumble as literally as I did back then, but even now you pick me up with your words of advice. You are the rock I can lean on when things get tough. You are my safetynet, and I can go through life enjoying the thought that no matter what happens, you will be there to catch me if I fall.
I just want you to know that I love you and that you really are the worlds greatest dad! Happy Father's Day daddy!
Lots of love,
Your Daughter,
Raecene
