3 December 2018, Tel Aviv - Filipinos in Israel came together to welcome the start of the Christmas season, as the Philippine Embassy, in collaboration with the Filipino community, opened the holiday with its annual Christmas Tree-Lighting Ceremony and Parol Competition at the Terra Sancta School in Jaffa.
Ambassador Neal Imperial led the annual ceremony, which he observed was also a celebration of Philippine culture and holiday traditions such as parol-making and Christmas caroling. He thanked the community for their enthusiastic participation, noting that this year's parol competition had the largest number of participants since it began in 2009. He emphasized that the celebration of Christmas in the Holy Land is most special because it is where the Christmas story began.
Christmas carols featuring traditional favorites such as "Silent Night" and "Jingle Bells" opened the program, followed by energetic dance and song performances from Kids for Christ and Youth for Christ. Chorale groups from all over Israel also performed Filipino Christmas songs such as "Pasko Na Sinta Ko" and "Pasko Na Naman", with a nostalgic performance of "Christmas in our Hearts" rounding off the program.
The Philippine Embassy holds the annual Christmas Tree-Lighting Ceremony on the first Saturday of every December.
For more information on the Embassy's upcoming activities and programs, follow the Embassy on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/PhilippineEmbassyTelAviv or visit the official website at http://www.philippine-embassy.org.il.
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Ambassador Neal Imperial is joined by (L-R) Ms. Anna Luisa Rafael (Assistant Auditor, FFCI); Ms. Lourdes Levi (President, NAFILCO) & Fr. Carlos Santos in lighting the Christmas tree
Members of various religious groups and organizations serenade the audience with Christmas carols. Among the performers are from Good Shepherd Filipino Catholic Community – Jerusalem (top photo), St. Joseph Latin Parish Church Choir – Haifa (middle photo) and Association of Igorot Migrant Workers in Israel (AIMWI) (bottom photo).
Dance numbers delight also the audience such as the performances from the Kids For Christ (top) and the Philippine Society for Culture and Arts (bottom)
This year’s winning entries for the parol-making contest: (L-R) Just Love Travelers (Grand Prize); Batangas Radiant Colligation (1st Runner-Up) and Association of Igorot Migrant Workers in Israel (AIMWI) (2nd Runner-Up)