Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philippines. Show all posts

June 12 - Independence Day in the Philippines

 Posted on June 12, 2021

This is an update of my post published on June 12, 2010:



On July 4, 1946, the Philippines became an independent country.

So why is June 12 celebrated as Independence Day?

Like so many aspects of history, it's complicated. Basically, the Philippines, an island nation in eastern Asia, declared its independence from Spain on June 12, 1898. But Spain ceded the Philippines to the U.S. (for 20 million dollars) at roughly the same time, and the U.S. didn't accept the Philippines as independent.

U.S.: “Hey, we own you—we bought you for $20 million.”

Philippines: “We didn't sell ourselves to you—and you sure never paid us $20 million!”

U.S.: “No, we bought you from Spain! We gave THEM the $20 million.”

Philippines: “We weren't Spain's to sell!”

U.S.: “Yeah you were. Spain owned you as a colony.”

Philippines: “No. We own ourselves. We are independent.”

A war of independence was fought, but this particular revolutionary war didn't pan out for liberty. The Philippines lost, and the U.S. controlled the islands. So hypocritical of folks from the United States not awarding people self-rule...amIright?




In 1935 work was begun to give the Philippines independence (about time!!!), but World War II interrupted the process, and an enormous amount misery occurred in the Philippines: the Japanese invasion, war crimes, the Bataan Death March, the Manila Massacre.

Eventually, of course, the Allies (including the U.S.) won, the Japanese lost, and the Philippines were finally finally FINALLY recognized as an independent country.




After all of that, Filipinos recognize as their national Independence Day the date they declared their independence, not the date it was finally granted by others. This is actually pretty typical. For example, the U.S. Independence Day honors the date that the 13 colonies declared independence from England (July 4, 1776), not the date that England formally accepted it (September 3, 1783).

Islands, islands, everywhere...



I mentioned before that the Philippines is an island nation. Actually, it is an archipelago, which means a chain or cluster of islands formed through tectonic (volcanic) forces. The Philippines is made up of 7,107 islands!!!


















Which of these countries, like the Philippines, are mostly archipelagos?

China * Japan * New Zealand * Mexico * United Kingdom * France * Australia * Indonesia * Korea

 




ANSWER: Japan, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Indonesia



Living things everywhere...

The Philippines is one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world—in other words, it has a lot of different species of plants and animals, especially considering its relatively small size.







(The country is only the 71st largest in the world, and of course its landmass is divided up among thousands of different islands. Because it is made up of islands, it has the fifth longest coastline in the world.)


One of the interesting creatures that lives in the ocean surrounding the Philippines is the dugong. This marine mammal is closely related to the manatee. Both creatures are somewhat walrus shaped, and both eat plants. The dugong is dependent on sea grass and therefore hangs out in the shallowest parts of the ocean where rivers make shelves of land around the islands.

Can you spot the biggest physical difference between a manatee and a dugong?

Above, manatee
Below, dugong






ANSWER: The manatee has a rounded, paddle-like tail, but the dugong has a tail that is shaped like a dolphin's tail.


Learn more about dugongs.

Here is a coloring page about dugongs.

Here is a jigsaw puzzle of a much cuter mammal from the Philippines: a tarsier.


Speaking of jigsaw puzzles, did you ever see a 24,000-piece puzzle? This puzzle fan from the Philippines solved one in a little more than 233 hours.



For more on the Philippines, check out this earlier post.






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December 30 - Rizal Day in the Philippines

Posted on December 30, 2020

This post is an update of my 12.30.2009 post:



José Rizal is a national hero in the Philippines, and the anniversary of his death is marked by a public holiday.

Rizal was a writer who worked for freedom of his country from Spanish rule by institutional reforms and peaceful means. When the Spanish rulers executed him, however, he ended up inspiring the Filipino revolution that ended in their secession from the Spanish empire.



The Philippines is made up of many islands. And when I say "many islands" - I mean that there are more than 7,100 of them!


(Unfortunately, the Filipinos were not yet free and independent; instead, Spain ceded the country to the U.S., and Filipinos had to continue their struggle for independence against a new ruler.)

Rizal is considered a “polyglot,” which means that he could speak many languages—ten, to be exact. He is also considered a “polymath,” which means that he was learned in many areas. (You can probably tell that poly- means many.)


Rizal studied surveying, medicine and philosophy and earned degrees—including two doctorates!—in Manila (Philippines), Spain, France, and Germany. He was an ophthalmologist, sculptor, painter, educator, farmer, historian, playwright, journalist, poet, and novelist, and he dabbled in architecture, cartography, economics, ethnology, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, dramatics, martial arts, fencing, and pistol shooting!!! (Source: Wikipedia.)


His last words

Rizal was idealistic and dignified even through his military trial and martyrdom. He wrote a poem on the last day of his life, and he hid it in the stove in his prison cell, knowing the stove would be given to his family. In front of his guards, but in English, Rizal told his sisters, “There is something inside it,” thereby ensuring that the poem would be found.

The poem was untitled, but many refer to it as “Mi último adiós,” or “My Last Farewell.” According to Wikipedia, it could be the most translated patriotic “goodbye” in the world:
“Aside from the 35 English versions and interpretations into 46 Filipino languages, this poem has been translated into at least 38 other languages: Indonesian, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Fijian, French, German, Greek, Hawaiian, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Igbo, Italian, Japanese, Javanese, Korean, Latin, Māori, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Sanskrit, Sinhalese, Somali, Tahitian, Thai, Tongan, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese, Wolof, and Yoruba.” 


Celebrate the Philippines, and Rizal! 





Download and print some coloring pages about the Philippines.

Do Filipino-inspired crafts. There are four ideas here.


Languages of the Philippines

Just growing up in the Philippines, you get to be a bit of a polyglot. That's because there are two official languages (Filipino and English), at least 8 other “co-official” languages, and about 170 languages altogether!

For more than 300 years, Spanish was the official language of the country. When free public schools were mandated in 1863, they were taught in Spanish, and when Jose Rizal was writing his works in Spanish, it was spoken by 60% of the population (as their first, second, or third language). After the Spanish-American war, when America occupied the Philippines and imposed English as an official language, Spanish gradually declined. (Source: Wikipedia)



Some of the important regional languages are Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilokano, Kapampangan, Kinaray-a, Maguindanao, Maranao, Pangasinan, Tausug, and Waray-Waray. Tagalog is the regional language that is the basis for the official language, Filipino.

Listen to some Tagalog phrases at this website.


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