The Philippines: My Country, My Home

Nickname: Pearls of the Orient

The nickname comes from the fact that the Philippines looks like scattered pearls with its 7,102 islands. (During low tide, as the saying goes.. And as far as I know, the saying is pretty accurate. Some of the islands are inhabitable, some are unnamed. One group of islands is called "The Hundred Islands." There are, in fact, 100. Another group of 7 is simply called "The Seven Sisters." Like many other "things" in the Philippines, they have their respective legends.)

The Pledge of Allegiance: Panatang Makabayan

The National Flag: Divided in two horizontal strips (in peacetime, the blue on top, the red on the bottom), edged with a white triangle on the right side (the side by the pole). In the white triangle, there are three stars and a sun with eight rays. The flag was sewn by Josefina Herbosa and Marcella de Agoncillo Lorenza (Josefina's daughter).

What it means: The red stands for bravery, the blue for loyalty, and the white for purity. The three stars stand for the major island groupings of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The sun shows that our country is in the east, and the eight rays stand for the eight provinces that first rose in revolt against the Spaniards, namely Manila, Cavite, Bulacan, Batangas, Pampangga, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, and I forgot the other one (Sorry).

This was the day when General Emilio Aguinaldo, from the balcony of his home in Kawit, Cavite, flew the flag for the first time and called to arms the Philippine nationals. The KKK (Kataas-taasang Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng Mga Anak ng Bayan; loosely translated: Highest and Most Respectable Organization of the Children of the Nation), the underground revolutionary force, was aided by the United States, as 1898 was the year of the Spanish-American War. However, the Filipino-American War erupted soon afterwards, beginning with the death of a Filipino on San Juan Bridge, shot by Nebraskan Private William Grayson as a result of the language barrier. According to what was taught to me in 5th grade, the Filipinos were kept from the shores where a mock-war was being staged by the Spanish and the Americans. Unbeknownst to the Filipinos, the United States was buying the Philippines from Spain. When a revolutionary tried to cross the bridge, the American sentry had called for him to halt, but as he could speak no Spanish, his order was not heeded, and Grayson shot the man. The Philippines was not to be granted true independence until July 4, 1945, when the US liberated the country from the Japanese.

The fact that English, and not Spanish, is the second language is probably because of the fact that education for the lower classes was brought by the Americans. Previously, the only educated Filipinos had been the elites.

National Hero: Jose Rizal

National Animal: Water Buffalo (Carabao/Kalabaw)

National Bird: Philippine Eagle

National Fish: Milk fish (bangus)

National Flower: Sampaguita

National Tree: Narra

National Fruit: Mango

National Leaf: Anahaw

National Dance: Tinikling

Stories and Legends of the Philippines

The Legend of Kansilay
The Legend of the Sampaguita
The Legend of the Makahiya
The Legend of Mariang Makiling

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Email me through chibiphoebe@hotmail.com or lilasia@philippines.crosswinds.net. :) *giggle* Please?

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Last updated May 13, 1999. HAVE A GREAT LIFE!!!!!

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