A Christmas season that lasts for a little more than two months, where the Christmas spirit fills the air, no matter where you go.

Only in the Philippines.

Officially, the season starts on December 15, for the dawn masses or Misa de Gallo. Unofficially, it starts right after All Saints’ Day and ends on the Feast of the Three Kings (or Magis, January 6). You will see homes begin putting up their lights, putting up the Christmas tree, lanterns, glitters and more lights.

What do we expect from a Philippine Christmas? If you are going to spend the holidays here, be ready for some treat.

For expats who will be staying near or until December 25, be ready for unending Christmas parties. For example, there is the company party, the Division party and then you have the Departmental party, even i you only have 5 people in that department. Food and drinks are usually overflowing, and it is considered disrespectful to say no to an offer. Tip: eat and drink slowly if you see buffet and bar. The moment you set your plate down and your bottle runs dry, a new plate, more laden with food and another bottle will find their way to your hands. And these parties usually spill over to the nearest bar or videoke club until the wee hours of the morning. After which you find yourselves in a coffee shop, espresso in hand. Before you know it, you have to report back to work.

And that is just the party.

What else should you look forward too.? Gift-giving.

Despite the complaints you’ll hear about prices of commodities going up, the people you work with wil always have a token or two for you. It is not necessary to give back, though it is customary. A little something will always bring better cheer, as well as easier people to work with. In many organization, there will be a Kris-Kringle or locally called the Monito-Monita. You usually draw lots for your “Baby”- the person you will be giving a special gift. During the course of the days, each person is required to stealthily give a token based on a given theme like red, sweet or soft. I’ve sanitized the themes though usually, they have double meanings. The fun there is to think of a gift that bears that theme but should somehow be a joke or funny. For example, if the theme is “soft”, you can give those slimy green thingies usually bought by kids during Halloween. All in the name of good-natured fun. Other variations would include giving a clue about yourself-not the obvious ones of course. The more cryptic your hint is, the greater the fun.

On revelation day, usually during the Christmas party, each one is given the chance to guess their “Daddy” or “Mommy”- the one who is giving them the gift. A wrong guess would at times correspond to a “punishment” like rendering a song or doing something embarassing. Once done, the gift is given and the party continues.

And that is just a small part of the season.

There is a lot more to come.