Jun Belen, professional food photographer and blogger, lays thin slices of salted egg on the bibingka batter at his home in Oakland, Calif. on Friday Dec. 2, 2011.

In my youth in the ‘60s, dusting off the belen signaled Christmas time. My earliest memories are of a colorful cardboard cutout of the characters and scenes set up at the sala.

Filipino Christmas starts with the '-bers' Veronica Chua and Seanna Bataclan. VIBE. The turkey’s been eaten, the pumpkin pie is finished, ...

Yet Gorospe noted that other Filipino Christmas traditions, like the hanging of the parol or the display of the belen (manger scene), also have Catholic origins.

For many Filipino households, Christmas is not complete without the food. Most Filipinos start celebrating Christmas at midnight with the traditional Filipino Christmas feast of Noche Buena. The most ...

Bishops might wish to survey how many families still display the belen (crèche). The results can be dispiriting. Or maybe they themselves pass over home “reenactments” of the Nativity.