Yes, They Do Nochebuena In The Philippines!

Sure, Christmas Day is great but just about every Latino knows that Nochebuena is where it’s at. The holiday, which refers to the night of Christmas Eve and is celebrated on December 24, is one of the bigger holidays of the Christmas season and is often packed full with feasts of lechon, and other wonderful desserts. For many, it is believed that the tradition of Nochebuena and its lechon stems from colonial hunting down of pigs. If true it’s easy to see why Spanish colonized regions and countries (even outside of Latin America) share the same traditions of the holiday.

Case in point: the Philipines where Nochebuena is central to the holiday season.

Curious about what a Filipino Nochebuena looks like?

Fortunately, Filipino Reddit users have been sharing their traditions and recipes.

Check them out below!

“Fiesta Ham and Keso de Bola. Working in a muslim country. Its difficult to get pork.. Meron pero limited choices.. Meron generic Chiken Ham.. pero wla paring tatalo sa made in the phils!” – reddit user

“roast beef with cheesy pepper sauce, beef stroganoff with sour cream paste, italian formaggio a sfera (queso de bola), baked ham with sweet bourbon-mustard glaze, carbonara with peanut butter sauce, chocolate pork binagoongan, and of course hotdogs and marshmallows on a stick! YUM!!” –ejmtv

“

1. Lechon Bread – It was invented when someone thought “hmm, lechon kills cholesterol too slowly. It will cost a lot before we mastroke. Can we make cheap lechon made from carbs and sugar?
2. Keso De Bola – No one remembers why Keso De Bola is a tradition for us at Christmas. The truth is, when the messiah was born in the manger, his first language was “Maybe it would be delicious if we had Cheese De Bola, papsi.” And that is the legend of Cheese de bola.
3. Embotido – “Dude, I have an idea. Take the leftover leftover dish last night and wrap it in foil. Solid to. “Marijuana has nothing to do with the invention of the embotido. Nothing.
4. Pansit Palabok – for people who like spaghetti but don’t like spaghetti noodles, don’t like tomatoes, don’t like minced meat, don’t like cheese, and don’t like hotdogs.
5. Pansit Bihon – For people who like Pansit Palabok but don’t like Palabok. EDI WOW. I hope you are happy.
6. Pichipichi with cheese. – This is the dish that is delicious pichipichi made from special food and then instead of adding coconut, it spoils the taste with cheese because only bad people make it.
7. “Parang tumaba ka” / “When are you getting married” comments – No party with relatives should lose those who are willing to be ready like this.
8. Deconstructed Pigeon casserini with warm foie gras sorbet Menudo / Mechado / Afritada / Caldereta – it’s just the same. Name it what you call it ika nga.
9. KFC. –
10. Pucha I forgot to cook and the leche flan I made burned. Are they still open?” –redkinoko

“Last year’s menu: roast beef, baked lemon chicken, pesto/alfredo/meatball spag, cream dory with sour cream, paella, lechon belly, honey glazed ham, Caesar/Italian salad, fresh lumpia, leche flan, cake, chocolate pudding, bibingka, quezo de bola, wine, beer.” –mitselschisels

“During Christmas, we have bread, ham, and queso de bola, served with hot chocolate (we always use Ricoa). Our Christmas and New Year is kind of incomplete without these. This is for those who don’t want to eat rice.” –koyapres

“I usually make Honey Glazed Chicken for the fam, the honey is really good and it helps break down the protein on the chicken making it more tender. Instead of making Spaghetti, try making Carbonara. For dessert try making Mango Float, or twist the recipe a little where you replace Mangoes to Oreos instead.” –WashiTheAxe

“Suman with hot chocolate? Oh gooood.” –CheateroGG

“Crispy pata and lechong baboy. Mahal ng pork belly dito sa Canada.”-thrsblyt

“Lechon belly, baby back ribs, potato salad, carbonara and baked mac, Kare kare and caldereta.”- ainako_