Paskong
PINOY
OurCover
A couple of days ago, I saw the outside
of a friend’s house brightly illuminated with a
capiz parol, a fully authentic Filipino-made
Christmas lantern. Ah, Christmas is really just
around the corner.
Christmas is always a time when you
could sense that one is a full-blooded
Pinoy. There is something in the season that
brings out the Filipino in many of us – you
can check St. Aidans Parish in Rooty Hill for
example and you’ll see the church full with
pious Filipino Catholics attending the early
morning novena masses (for some reason
still called ‘Simbang Gabi’).
Migrants do love recreating their
hometown in their new country and FilipinoAustralians are not at all spared from that
passion to live and breathe the life we grew
up with. However we do it, wherever we do
it, many of us bring our own unique way of
celebrating Christmas.
Put a bunch of kids together and you’ll get that
kind of riot that can be fun. Even sweet. They’re the
young Pinoys of Sydney West growing up with a distinct
culture within a culture; it’s like seeing a one big barrio
within this one big country. These kids are excited that
Christmas is coming but definitely their Christmas is one
that carries the joys, the rituals, if not the peculiarities,
of a unique ‘Paskong Pinoy’. They’ll get gifts from their
ninongs and ninangs, they’ll visit their lolos and lolas
(‘mano po’), probably even get dragged out of their
beds for a Simbang Gabi, and yes indulge in a Filipinostyle noche buena. Their faces can only remind us of
the kind of Christmas we experienced many years ago.
After all, “Christmas is for the kids” as we always say.
Ang Kalatas has always
lived the Pinoy spirit and we
dedicate this issue to that – ang
kakaibang Paskong Pinoy.
In photo: Isabella, Paula, Laura Ann, River, Ivy,
Ryder, Lucy.
Titus
Oh yes, photo taken with their mums’
approval – Editor
EDITOR
CONTENTS
'This is a dream
come true...'
14
- Cyrus V.
20
Jim Paredes writes...
Christmas is for them too
'From Scrooge at Christmas'
Charity comes home
24
70th
PinOzInPlay
04
Anniversary
Aus-Phil relations
Step aside, JC’s coming
Ang Kalatas is published every first Saturday of the month circulated in
various parts of NSW. News articles, opinions, syndication and columnists do not necessarily reflect the views and opinion of the publisher
and editors of Ang Kalatas and are solely theirs. All editorial and advertising materials submitted by the advertisers are subject to the paper’s
advertising and editorial standards and discretion. All rights reserved.
02
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23
DECEMBER 2015
MILLIE MARCIAL-PHILLIPS
Publisher/Managing Editor
TITUS FILIO
Editor
Editorial: [email protected]
Advertising: [email protected]
Mail: PO Box 18, Quakers Hill 2763
Phone: (02) 8211 0243
Mobile: 0450 073 591
Printed by:
New Age Printing Pty Ltd
25 Clyde Street
Rydalmere 2116
www.kalatas.com.au
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ANG KALATAS