Monday, January 27, 2014

Celebrating Chinese New Year in the Philippines

tikoy/
photo courtesy: crazygraciegirl.blogspot.com

One of the most awaited festivities here in the Philippines is the Chinese New Year which happens between the month of January and February. This year, it is marked as a special non-working holiday which will be celebrated on the 31st day of January.

For Chinese families here and abroad, annual traditions are being practiced. It is believed that if these traditions are followed, good luck, fortune, wealth and long life will be granted to the family the whole year.

New Year’s Eve Dinner

It is a practice for Chinese Filipinos to have a mini-reunion in this time of the year. According to legends, there was once a mythical creature that comes out during the New year’s eve to harm loved ones and even our morality. It was discovered that bad spirits are afraid of the red color and even loud sounds. This is usually done at the expense of their own homes but some Chinese Filipinos out there spend it on hotels.(This article is brought to you by: Summit Hotels-a luxurious Quezon City Hotel.)

Make it Red

Red is the luckiest color of this event. If you would just keenly observe, on the eve up to the exact date of the Chinese New Year, everyone wears red. Tikoys in red boxes are for sale in every store of China town, lion and dragon dancers are dressed with their combination of red and gold costumes. As for the kids, they are given red envelopes with few peso bills in it. Usually given by adults to the young ones, it said that it eradicates evil spirits from the kids keeping which gives them good health and long life.

Fire Crackers

Aside from the famous Tikoy, firecrackers are always on the Chinese New Year scene. Right after 12 midnight, expect the grandest and loudest firecrackers to be launched. It is their tradition to launch firecrackers during New year because it’s loud sound drives away bad spirits.

House and Cleaning

Cleaning the house during the New Year’s Eve was believed to drive away bad spirits. After cleaning, one should decorate one’s house with red. Usual decorations are red paper cuttings, red paints, etc..

So, that wraps up everything about Chinese New Year traditions in the Philippines. May you have a Happy New Year! Kung Hei Fat Choi!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

4 Hotels in Makati with Function Rooms

Having difficulty finding the right venue for your child’s birthday party, your parent’s 50th wedding anniversary or your daughter’s debut party? You’ve come to the right place because I will give you famous hotels in Makati which can cater your needs.

What is a function room?

Function room refer to a venue for hosting special events like birthday parties, wedding, wedding anniversaries, debuts, or even serves as a press conference venue for launching of a movie or for political purposes.

Some of Makati’s Famous Hotels with Function Hall:

1.City Garden Hotel

This is an open air venue which can cater from 30 to 150 persons. This is also a good venue for night parties while seeing Makati’s Skyline. If any weather disturbances occur you can choose to rent for the air-conditioned rooms in the lower floors.

2.Prince Plaza Condotel

This is a luxurious venue with a swimming pool. This a good place for night parties as Makati’s city lights can be seen. In a party with less 50 attendees, the air conditioned room might be good for you but if you like to party all night and swim, you can choose to rent the function room and the pool. As for the catering service, they also offer the venue plus the catering package but if you want to spend less, they are giving you the option to choose your own catering service.

3.Mandarin Oriental Manila

If you’re not in a tight budget, you mightwant to try Mandarin Oriental Manila. With 15 different function rooms, it can cater from 30 to 1000 groups of people. They offer different rooms with different functions. From meeting rooms, dance floors, rooms for romantic dinner date, and many more. They also offer logistic services that will help you in planning your events. This place offers a total package for wedding, from preparation to honeymoons.

4. Fairmont Hotels and Resorts

They offer 4 different function rooms which serves different purposes. One of their special rooms is the Fairmont Ballroom which can accommodate up to 720 participants and has also a 4 meter high ceiling which can be useful for equipments.