A Christmastime Budget-Friendly Music Fest

For anyone who doesn’t have the budget to visit music festivals,like Coachella and the controversial 7107 Fest, you don’t have to go far to see one for yourselves. In fact, you don’t even have to spend a lot of money to watch them at all.

courtesy of WordPulse.com

courtesy of WordPulse.com

It happens during the days before Christmas Day, a showcase of musical talents that has been ongoing for a very long-time. In fact, you get to witness it just right on your door-step!

Every night, groups of people, young and old, go door to door in every house around the neighbourhood and sings songs of Christmas carols to you heart’s content, both the good, the bad, and the tonally-challenged.

If you’re looking for an amateur hour of “Battle of the Bands“, you’d find them in the form of kids from next door equipped with recycled water bottles and bottle caps, shaking and rattling them with little or no musical structure whatsoever, which never always matter as long as they’re very endearing to listen to. Their choices of songs are very limited, in fact, much of their playlists has been abridged, with minor grammatical incorrections:

Sa maybahay ang aming bati
‘Merry Christmas’ na maluwalhati
Ang pag-ibig ‘pag siyang naghari
Araw-araw ay magiging Paskong lagi.

We wish you a merry Christmas,
we wish you a merry Christmas,
and a happy New Year.

Kay sigla ng gabi
Ang lahat ay kay saya
Nagluto ang Ate ng manok at tinola
Sa bahay ng Kuya ay mayro’ng litsonan pa.

Tayo na giliw
Magsalo na tayo
Mayro’n na tayong
Tinapay at keso
Di ba Noche Buena
Sa gabing ito
At bukas ay araw ng pasko.

Pasko! Pasko!
Pasko na namang muli.
Ang pag-ibig naghahari!

And then if you’re into the type where it really celebrates the wonders of music, then there are the group choirs from the local parish who wish to send holiday cheers to every house they visit, complete with a matching guy to get you into the mood.

Of course, what better way to repay these carolers than give them a some portion of wealth as a token of our appreciation. That’s the only amount of schillings you have to shell out compared to the thousands of pesos you have to expend to buy a ticket, book accomodations, and cover cost of transportation.

Enjoy the music festival right at the comfits of your own home.

Happy Holidays!

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