Culture
Best Places to Celebrate Your Chinese New Year’s Eve 2020 in Cebu
by Chrissy Grey Resaba
Metal Rat Goes Into the Hole of 2020! Outgoing, cheerful, and sociable – these are some of the facets the Rat characterizes. True to the Chinese zodiac, Rat’s personality can get along well with different people and friends are visible around them. They can also harvest success due to their quick wit and response to outside changes thus, they are alert, adaptable, and observant.
As we bring closer to the Spring Festival in which the Year of the Rat with Metal of the Five Elements, people born in this year are quite positive and active about life and their persistence rarely gets frustrate in circumstances. Moreover, there are places here in Cebu that you will attend as you welcome the beginning of the Chinese Lunar calendar which coincides with the first sign of Chinese zodiac animals.
Usher in welcoming the Year of the Metal Rat as Maayo Hotel and Uma Restaurant prepares a festive buffet as we welcome a brand new year. It is priced at Php 750 net per person during lunch and Php 870 net per person during dinner. Promo runs from January 23-25, 2020.
Crimson Resort and Spa welcomes the first day of the year of the rat with a Wushu performance at the resort’s porte cocher then dot the lion and dragon’s eyes to start the dancing and festivities. Crimson’s culinary team also is laying out an elaborate Chinese, Oriental, and Asian selection at Saffron Café. You may ask the chefs at the live station to make noodles and other dishes the way you like them. Attract more good luck with tikoy and rice pudding with Mandarin sauce.
Elevate your dining culture into incorporating technological innovations in this iconic restaurant! Not only, Ding How Dimsum House offers palatable Chinese food for Cebuanos to enjoy but it introduces the new digital ordering system. Individual screens allow one to view the Ding How menu, place an order, and engage in trivia, history, and multimedia visuals. With this, it upgrades customer convenience when ordering by allowing the diner to order at their own pace. It also informs the diners of the waiting time before food is served.
Join Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort and Spa as they welcome the Year of the Metal Rat in celebration of the Chinese New Year. Ceremonies will commence at 9:45 in the morning on Saturday, January 25, 2020, at the Main Wing Lobby.
Feast yourself with Prosperity and Fortune in a dinner buffet at one of Cebu’s best, Cebu Parklane International Hotel’s Manuel’s Restaurant for only Php 1,050.00 net on January 24 and 25. Beandate also offers Merienda Chino – a variety of merienda treats and Chinese snacks Cebuanos love for only Php350.00 net on January 25th only.
Prizes from the Tree of Fortune awaits to those diners who purchased a minimum of Php 3,000.00 net. The Tree of Fortune offers:
- One overnight stay at Parklane Room with Breakfast for Two
- Two Gift Certificates for a Lunch or Dinner Buffet for One
- Four Bean Date Mugs
- Four Complimentary Homemade Cakes
- Ten Parklane Pencils
- Two Bottles of Wine
For inquiries and reservations, call 234-7000 local 7249 or visit www.
Culture
Cebuano Pride: The National Museum of Cebu
Pride of Cebu
By Eva Gullas
photos courtesy of DOT
Culture
The Uncommon Traditions that Mexicans and Filipinos share when celebrating the Day of the Dead.
Dia de los Muertos
By Allain Dumon Fonte
The 2nd of November is All Soul’s Day, a holiday that is very important to many Filipinos to remember our loved ones who passed on. This is also widely celebrated in Mexico as “Dia De los Muertos” or in English, “The Day of the Dead”. And Mexicans celebrate the 2nd of November grander than they celebrate Christmas. Well, you can witness it from the Disney movie, “Coco”.
As All Soul’s Day or Dia de los Muertos is about to end, here are some interesting traditions and superstitions that Filipinos and Mexicans share:
1. IT IS NOT ON THE 31st OF OCTOBER
Dia de los Muertos or All Soul’s Day is not practiced on October 31st or on the Hallow’s Eve as many other western cultures practice; but we celebrate it on the 2nd of November. We celebrate November 1st as All Saint’s Day or the Day of the Holy, while in Mexico they call it Dia de los Innocentes or Dia de los Angelitos to commemorate the children who died too early in life.
2. THE RITUAL
Both in Mexico and in the Philippines, we visit the grave of our loved ones and we clean it well. This is a ritual to honour their resting places and to let them know that they are never forgotten.
3. FLOWERS INVITE SPIRITS
In Mexico, they believe that the scent of flowers attract spirits. So the flower offerings are invitation to their dead loved ones to visit the living families. While in the Philippines, we believe that flowers offered to the dead exalt the souls and somehow fill in the sadness that we feel when missing our dead loved ones.
Most of the time, Filipinos choose all-white flowers to offer because white is the absence of colour, which means the absence of Joy and happiness. White also symbolises purity of soul which we hope our dead loved ones will attain as they journey to heaven. While in Mexico, they have the yellow Mexican marigolds as the official flowers of the dead that will guide them in their journey to the afterlife.
4. THE LEGEND OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLIES
Both cultures believe that monarch butterflies are dead loved ones who visit us and show their appreciation that we have not forgotten them. A presence of monarch butterflies also means that our dead loved ones are always there guiding us and looking after us.
5. A PICNIC IN THE GRAVEYARD
Spending a night at the graveyard and picnicking with the rest of the family may sound very creepy to many; but to both Filipino and Mexican cultures, picnicking and spending a night at the cemetery is a must to show our love to our dearly departed. It is the only time in the year that families gather and tell stories of the dead loved ones and how colourful or how great their lives were.
6. FOOD FOR THE DEAD
In Mexico, they have what they call “ofrendas” or an altar where the pictures of their dead loved ones are displayed and offered with flowers, candles, and their favourite food. Very similar to the Filipino culture of cooking the favourite food of our dead loved ones and everyone in the family enjoys the food for dinner.
My family tradition involves me driving all the way to Colon street and buy that famous Snow Sheen’s “pancit canton”. This is my granddad’s favourite snack. Sadly, the old Visayan Restaurant is no longer there. My late uncle and my late grandpa love their sweet ad and sour fish. We also set up an “ofrenda” on their graveyard and eat their favourite food while picnicking in the cemetery. We do not spend a night in the cemetery; but while we are picnicking there, we usually play the songs of Pilita Corrales and Susan Fuentes that my late grandpa used to listen every afternoon while enjoying his coffee, pan de sal, and pancit canton.
What about your family traditions? Share your thoughts by commenting to this article.
MODEL: Michael Joseph Mortola Enriquez & Alexis Wingfield
PHOTOGRAPHER: Gianne Paolo Anciano
HMUA/DESIGNER: Hazel Ocaba
STYLING: GPA Lifestyle + Clothing
Culture
Catch Ted Lasso the Emmy Award Winning Comedy Series on Apple TV+
Rating: *****/ *****
The multi award–winning comedy series airing on Apple TV+ is one of my favorite shows. Ted Lasso starring Jason Sudeikis is about a fun good-natured American football coached hired by a British soccer club (AFC Richmond in London) to become their new coach. In spite of the fact that Ted has no experience or knowledge about British football/soccer, his positive demeanor and charm helps him overcome the animosity of the team’s players, staff and fans. Eventually Ted wins over the team and the locals as they fight for position in the English Premier League.
The show won the 2021 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series and 7 Emmy Awards in its 2 seasons and Season 3 is just around the corner. You can catch Seasons 1 & 2 of Ted Lasso on Apple TV+