Filipino Culture: On Family and Food

I have been in many different places. But I have never seen families so close together like how Filipino families are. Indeed families are the foundation of Filipino culture and are very important. I know that all over the world people are saying that the family should be the most important thing. But if you visit and see the Filipino family, you will get to understand and see for yourself how the Filipino people truly are. It is also then that you will see how close and loving Filipino families are. Generations after generations, Filipino traditions are being brought about circling the Filipino family. This is where the Filipino people get their smiles. This is where the Filipino culture got its inspiration.

The Filipino family is very important. When you are in the Philippines, you will notice how Filipino families stick together. In most countries, when the children of the family reaches 18 or when they graduate from school, they branch out on their own.  In  Filipino families, this isn’t the case. In fact, most Filipino people stay in their parents’ house up until they get married. It is part of Filipino tradition that are treasured by everyone. There are actually Filipino people, surprisingly, who opt to have their kids stay at their places even when they have married and have kids. As a matter of fact, it is normal that there are at least three generations of Filipino families living in one roof. The best thing about this is that the elders do not see this as a burden. They see it as a blessing that their families are together. They use this as a tool of making sure that everyone in the family are on their way up to successful lives. In many other countries, this can be seen as a disappointment. But in the Filipino culture, this is a very important matter.

There are many different Filipino traditions that involve the family. Most Filipino traditions, actually, revolve about being close to each other. This is where the courteousness, respectfulness, and the closeness of the Filipino families come from.

If you visit the Philippines, you will often hear the words “po” and “opo”. These are two words that represent respect. There are no translations to these two words in any other language. But to understand it more, here is an example. Normally, when you hear people say ”thank you”, it’s just “thank you”. When it comes to the Filipino people, you will hear either “salamat po” or “thank you po”. Salamat is the Filipino word for thank you. The word “po” is added to show respect.

In the Filipino family, there are also some words that do not exist in other languages. They have the words “ate” and “kuya”, which means older sister and brother respectively. This, indeed, is sign of how respectful and courteous the Filipino people are. They do not forget to use these words when they are talking to people that are older than them.

In Filipino culture, when it comes to communities, is that they are a shared one. The Filipino neighbors care about each other. Occasionally, they give each other food. Sometimes, they ask each other to care for their homes. This is part of the loving nature of the Filipino people. They love working together and this is why their communities are like this.

But one more important factor that makes up Filipino culture is the Filipino cuisine. Filipino people love to eat. Rice is a staple in their cuisine. The main reason to this is that rice is one of their main produce. This being said, it is widely available to them. Therefore, Filipino culture is filled with rice dishes and cuisine. There are many dishes that may seem exotic to the Western civilization. A perfect example to this would be the infamous balut. Filipino people love it. But westerners, well, can’t even imagine themselves eating it.

Filipino culture and Filipino traditions are something that everyone will be able to relate to. They are filled with colourful festivities and a lot of food as Filipino people love to eat. Each Filipino family knows this. Therefore, I highly recommend that when you visit the Philippines, go see some Filipino families and experience the country at its utmost best.