BER MONTHS SPECIAL

Pinoys Celebrate BER Months:
Jose Mari Chan Memes, Jollibee Kiddie Meal Collection, Mall Dancing Lights, Christmas Decoration Hunting and More

  SEASONAL  

It is time of the year when everything becomes colorful, full of excitement and a meme-filled fun! 
Well, in the Philippines, the last day of August means the eve for BER Months. This modern celebration is a traditional expansion or evolution of Christmas where in Filipino Christians get to celebrate the season as early as September. Why it's called Ber Months? Well,it's actually an imaginative wordplay made by someone that spread to the Filipino lingo. All months from September leading to Christmas Eve on December has BER letters at its end.

But new fun practices emerged from this contemporary tradition. Usually, on August 31, or even early as July, fun memes of Jose Mari Chan, a popular Filipino producer/composer/singer turned businessman, spreadlike wildfire to Social Media. The memes are teasers and reminders that BER Months are coming. 

Funny Holiday Memes

Here is a video of JMC's Memes Special Collection:  

 WATCH THIS VIDEO 

These meme ideas were based from another Ber Months tradition that have been practiced ever since.  As early as August 31, we get to hear Christmas Music or Paskong Pinoy OPM sounds like Jose Mari Chan's Christmas in our Hearts and Perfect Christmas being blasted from loudspeakers in malls, jeepneys (modern transport buses), parks, resorts or in homes. On the foreign side, Maria Carey's I'll be Home for Christmas also is dominating yuletide playlists after playlist in the streaming platforms like in many Spotify, Amazon Music or YouTube Music in this time of year.

 Paskong Pinoy is a different cultural heritage based on Western Christmas celebration and Spanish traditions but with twist of barrio style fiesta.

JOLLIBEE KIDDE MEALS

Every Ber Months, Jollibee toy collectors are getting busy visiting branches if there are new Kiddie Meal toys.

 WATCH THIS VIDEO 

Christmas Lights Extravaganza

Malls in the Philippines becomes more festive and colorful in BER Months, blasting Christmas OPM and Traditional Xmas music:  

 WATCH THIS VIDEO 

Giant Christmas Trees in malls lure and spread magica on
families and barkadas as early as September

This cultural phenomena was embraced by many Filipinos as they get to enjoy Christmas earlier than other in the world. For many, Ber Months means different Local Government Agencies (LGUs) get to have grand launching of their Christmas villages or giant Christmas trees. Some get to have switching of light ceremonies. Mall take advantage of this early months for them to easily magnet buyers in purchasing Christmas decors, lanterns and lights. Online shops like Lazada and Shoppee are also in line with this tradition.

Decoration Hunting

Decors you might need this coming Christmas/BER Monts fro your house or office
(for members of Landers Superstore):  

 WATCH THIS VIDEO 

Christmas Village

Some rich Filipinos get to share the Christmas Spirit by giving free tour of their Christmas decorations  to other people who love the magic of Christ's birth. 

 WATCH THIS VIDEO 

Well, the usual culprit of these new traditions is the commercialization of Christmas. Creatives from advertising agencies and marketing managers of malls and grocery stores are putting their heads hard on thinktank tables to make interesting adverts and promotional materials so people will spend more during the holidays. Getting the buyer's attention is one great element of why Rodolph the Reindeer was created. 

Television companies are also sources of making the holidays evolve drastically by introducing new Company Christmas IDs with their talents singing a new Christmas song that they wish would somehow become viral.
Nonetheless, Christmas Spirit should still be anchored with faith, peace, love and hope which are the primary factors that the Bible wanted to convey for us to spread to our fellow men, believers or non-believers. 

LISTEN: BACOLOD MASSKARA FESTIVAL 2023 Theme Song (with lyrics)

Hear ye! It's the time of the year when,  every October, the streets of Bacolod, the capital of Negros Occidental, becomes alive again with reverie and people start to feel the happy vibes in the air during the BER Months (not becaiuse of Christmas season) but because of the Masskara themes are being displayed everywhere from malls to the streets.
Many already knew how this 3-week long festival started but for those who heard this festival for the first time, Masskara was created because of very sad events. In the 80s, Bacolod suffered many setbacks in its sugar industry thanks to the world p. That event back then caused havoc to the life of Negrenses and Bacolodnons because sugar was the lifeblood of the island. The sinking of the Negros Navigation MV Don Juan taht caused many deaths and missing people added to the injury to the economy. Thus the festival was born out of these sad events. Local artists convened to created a long-lasting event that will influence people to smile again in the midst of hardships. Smiling dancers with masks competed along the streets of the downtown area and people from all walks of life were attracted to the colorful costumes that were truly memorable, fun and creative. For years, its success gradually revitalized the economy and the spirit of Bacolodnons.  Under the leadership of Mayor Albee Benitez, MassKara came back after some years of hiatus due to the Pandemic.  On 2022, BALIK YUHUM (SMILES RETURN) becomes the battlecry theme of the post-pandemic Masskara.  
Fort the year 2023  on Mayor Albee's 2nd term, MassKara has a new theme called Sinadya sa Bacolod and it also comes with a THEME SONG performed by: Kyle Echarri, Janeena Chan and  Anthony Rosaldo . of the 2023 MASSKARA FESTIVAL (WITH LYRICS)  This is Released by Bacolod Yuhum Foundation |