“One, two, three, sixteen, twenty one! 21 groupings of 10 pcs coins each, that should be enough, right?
“Baby maniwala ka kukulangin yan sa daming batang mamamasko after magsimba.”
Christmas 2015. This is my first time to spend Christmas day in Liliw, and I am so looking forward to the hordes of kids who will come knocking on the doors, shouting, exclaiming ‘mamamasko po!’.
Years ago, my then boyfriend Titus (the hubby now) regaled me with stories of kids that will descend on the town of Liliw on Christmas Day. He told me to prepare coins for the kids Aguinaldo or gift – 1 pesos, 5 pesos, 10 pesos, so I did.
His other instructions include ‘pag bukas mo ng pinto, ask them a question. Pag kilala mo or kapitbahay na bata, bigyan mo ng lima; pag hindi piso.’
“Ha? Piso lang?”
“Baby maniwala ka, sa sobrang dami nila, mauubos ang pera mo. Tsaka, lahat ng bahay dadaanan ng mga bata, at the end of the day, malaki na pera nila.”
These kids he said are from the neighborhood, from the mountain barangays, and some even hails from neighboring towns.
‘Ha? Pati mga taga-Nagcarlan etc pumupunta dito?”.
“Oo madami. Kilala na ang mga taga-Liliw nagbibigay sa pasko. Dati rati, puro lang taga Liliw ang mga bata, ngayon kahit di taga-Liliw namamasko na.
He asked me how many coins I have prepared, told him we have about 200++ pieces of various P10s, P5s, and P1s. “Kulang yan, papalit tayo sa bangko.”
So yesterday, he went to two rural banks in the town center. Sadly, no more coins are available for exchange. They’ve been snapped-up days ago by other residents of Liliw, waaaaaa. Once our pang aguinaldo are gone, they are gone. Pasensyahan nalang sa mahuhuli. :/
Aside from the coins, I’ve bought some “chocolate coins” that I plan to give to the first ones at our door tomorrow. 🙂
‘Sometimes pag nagkamali ka ng bigay sa bata ng piso. Tapos it turned out inaanak sa kasal yung magulang, or inaanak ng nanay mo, kapatid mo etc. Babalik sa bahay niyo ang magulang dala dala ang bata para magpakilala, at dadagdadagan mo ang pamasko mo hehe’
These are sample question(s) I can ask…
“Ano pangalan mo? Sino ka? Sino magulang mo?”
“Kilala mo ako? Sino kilala mo dito sa bahay namin?”
“Taga-saan ka? Malapit kanino bahay mo?
The answers to the question(s) will determine ang pampasko mo. 😀
Our aguinaldo may be little, but it is wholeheartedly given with hope that it will bring a smile to a kid’s face.
Kids and Christmas Gifts
Titus shared that when they were kids, they’d be up early for the 8 AM mass decked in their new clothes and shoes. After the Christmas mass, he and cousins will visit the relatives and ninangs/ninongs houses firsts to ask for pamasko, then the general neighborhood houses. “Babawiin mo yung mga bago mong damit at sapatos”, he smiled.
P100s and P500s are the usual gifts they received from relatives, ninongs, and ninangs. At noon time, they usually raked up as much as P4,000 to P5,000 – money that they will hand-over to their parents.
I asked him, what becomes of the money. Do you buy clothes or new toys with it?
“No, the big bills are with your mom now. It’s up to her what she does with it. You on the other hand will have the remaining coins you got from the neighborhood houses. So dadaan mo talaga bahay ng lahat ng kilala mo, at kilala ng magulang mo para madami kang matitira hehhe.”
🙂
Liliw residents are blessed to have the opportunity to give to kids near and far. I can’t wait for tomorrow, and experience this unique Paskong Pinoy tradition. 😉
Merry Christmas to one and all!
Mamamasko po sa inyo,
Cille 😀
#liliw #christmastradition #paskongpinoy
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