CHRISTMAS is indisputably Filipinos’ most celebrated holiday. The fanfare that happens in the Philippines as Christmas approaches is proof of how important this holiday is to Filipinos. It is a season of celebrating love and joy. This love and joy during Christmas are usually expressed through merrymaking and gift-giving. The following linguistics notes on/for Christmas are my gift to readers of The Manila Times this Christmas to give them a unique understanding of this holiday. Hopefully, these notes will give them joy.
“Christmas” generally refers to the Christian celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ on the 25th of December, but it can also broadly refer to the days, weeks and even months leading up to that day. Filipinos are often proud to say they celebrate the longest Christmas in the world. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word first appeared in English in an Old English text dated 1023 by Wulfstan in the sentence, and it appeared in the form “Cristesmæssan.”
It is obvious that the Tagalog word “Pasko” did not come from this Old English word. It is from the Spanish phrase “Pascua de Navidad,” or “Easter of the Nativity,” and the last two words obviously fell out of use. Other languages use cognates of the word: “Pasko” also in Cebuano, Boholano, Pangasinense and Waray; “Kapaskuhan” in Bikolano, “Pascua” in Hiligaynon and Ilokano, “Pascu” in Kapampangan, and “Paskwa” in Aklanon. It is not surprising that the Philippine Spanish creole Chavacano retained “Navidad.”
But more linguistic notes could be derived not only from the origin of the words “Christmas” and “Pasko” but also from Jesus’ infancy narratives, often read during the traditional Simbang Gabi. I highlight one of my favorites, to which I credit the late Pope Benedict XVI for pointing these out. The greeting of the angel Gabriel to Mary is often recounted in the famous prayer Hail Mary, but the Gospel tells us that she was greeted using the word “rejoice.” It was not the usual Hebrew salutation “shalom” or “peace be with you.” A rather unusual greeting, and hence why Mary was puzzled by it. The angel who announced to the shepherds the birth of Jesus uses a similar word: “I bring you good news of a great joy.” Benedict preached that joy was always associated in the Bible when the Holy Spirit acts to manifest God’s love and redemption. But more profoundly, the late pontiff told us that God used a different language, not “shalom,” but the Greek “chaire,” to emphasize the universality of the good news and, more importantly, God’s love made real in and through Jesus.
May Christmas always be the beautiful and meaningful season we Filipinos imagine it to be. May the love it brings be expressed in any language or even beyond languages, and that same love be a hope for all of us in the troubled world we are in today!
Ariane Macalinga Borlongan is one of the leading scholars on English in the Philippines and is also doing pioneering work on language in the context of migration. He is the youngest to earn a doctorate in linguistics, at age 23, from De La Salle University. He has had several teaching and research positions in Germany, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Poland and Singapore. He serves as a consultant to the Oxford English Dictionary. He is presently an associate professor of sociolinguistics at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Japan.
