In the Philippines, Christmas celebrations starts nine days before Christmas. Houses are decorated with Christmas lights, Christmas trees and colourful star lanterns - parols. These lanterns are hung everywhere: you can see them in windows, doors, and porches.

As in England, children go from house to house carol singing, they sing the same carols as we sing in England.

A mass - Misa de Gallo - starts the Christmas celebrations nine days before Christmas.  

On December 24th, which is the last of the nine days, most people go to mass.  After mass people buy sweets, like puto bumbong, from the stalls. Puto bumbong is violet coloured and is very sweet.

People then return to their homes for La Noche Buena: a Christmas feast of giant balls of cheese and Christmas ham. 

The Christmas celebration continues through out New Years Eve and New Years Day to January 6, which is Three Kings' Day - Epiphany.  At midnight on New Year's Eve, Filipino families have a meal together celebrate the coming of a new year.