Country, people & culture

The inhabitants of the Philippines are called Filipinos. They like to call themselves Pinay or Pinoy.
It's hard not to like Filipinos. They are hospitable, open, open-minded and like to get in touch with travelers. This works particularly well since most of them speak very good English.

The Filipinos are culturally more like the West than other Southeast Asian countries. This is mainly due to the Spanish and American colonial times. Kindness, harmony, courtesy and good manners are particularly important values for the Filipinos. The family is particularly important.

In his spare time, Filipinos like to sing karaoke, play basketball and rehearse dance choreographies. Another part of the culture is cockfighting, where bets are placed.

The best way to immerse yourself in the Filipino culture is to choose locally run accommodations. The Filipinos are very hospitable and like to bring their culture closer to their guests. This is how you get to know Filipinos' life today. If you want to go on a little journey through time and still want to get to know the old traditions, customs and rituals from almost forgotten times, you should go to the North of the Philippines to travel. The indigenous people Igorot live there, including the Ifugao, Bontoc, Kalinga, Kankanai and Ibaloi. They still practice their customs, wear traditional clothing and worship their ancestors and nature spirits. Offerings and war dances are also still practiced. The peoples created the rice fields 2,000 years ago and still largely live from them.

Events & festivals

Events and events reflect the culture and traditions, which is why it is important to take a look at the event calendar. The Sinulog Festival in Cebu-City takes place annually around the third weekend in January and is the largest and most important festival in the Philippines. If you are going to the north of the Philippines at the end of February, you definitely have to experience the Panagbenga (Flower Festival) Baguio City.

language

Tagalog is the national language of the Philippines. The official language is English.
The Filipinos also speak Tagalish, a mix of Tagalog and English.
Bisaya (also called Cebuano) is spoken predominantly in the Visayas. Bisaya is reminiscent of the Spanish language. Above all, the times and numbers were taken from the Spanish.
In total, there are more than 170 native languages in the Philippines.

religion

More than 80 % of the population are Catholics.
Almost 10% belong to other Christian churches.
Around 5 % are Muslims, most of whom live in the south of the country.

More about the population and history of the Philippines