Far Eastern University (FEU) begins the Christmas season with the celebration of Pasko sa Piyu 2018 and Christmas tree lighting with the theme of "Simbang Gabi" held last November 15 at the FEU Plaza.

After weeks of preparation, President’s Committee on Culture (PCC) spearheaded the tree lighting ceremony with initiatives from Chair Emeritus Lourdes Montinola and Vice President for Corporate Affairs Gianna Montinola.

PCC Director Martin Lopez’ vision for the year’s Yuletide event, Pasko sa Piyu, was to share the cultural norms of Filipinos in celebrating the month of giving.

“We want the FEU community particularly to enjoy the lights, the tree, [and] the season before exams in a couple of weeks. These are just some of the many ways by which we try to celebrate Christmas as one FEU family,” Lopez shared in his opening remarks.

According to Dr. Rowena Capulong-Reyes, Manager of Marketing and Communication, the icon is labored by in-house engineers from the office of Facilities and Technical Services (FTS).

“We [officials] had the students in mind and we wanted something new, and we wanted something that you [students] would like and hopefully, you did,” Dr. Capulong-Reyes furthered.

The event featured the performances of the FEU cultural groups under the PCC. Presentations by the Drum and Bugle Corps, Dance Company, Chorale, Theater Guild, Bamboo Band, and Drummers heightened the Christmas spirit of the said celebration.

The performances showcased Christmas songs of Original Pilipino Music (OPM), as one of the means of imparting the Filipino culture of celebrating Christmas which takes place at the month of November.

Aside from the changes in this year', it also coincided with the Asia Euro Conference, which was hosted by FEU, allowing the delegates to partake the said event as guests.

"The difference is that we have so many from the FEU community who came to watch, the tree is new and different, the Asia Euro delegation just added to the audience. We really scheduled the concert for today, it’s just so happened that Asia Euro also was also on this day so we merge forces," Lopez shared.

''Within the FEU community, some of the other traditions we have for Christmas are [led by] Pasko sa Piyu, this concert for example, but we also have [actual] Simbang Gabi masses which are held nine days before the end of classes - not at four in the morning but five in the afternoon," Lopez ended.

Pasko sa Piyu has been an annual celebration held by FEU to kickstart the Christmas festivities in the school community, which takes place at the month of November.

-Shandy Ira S. Vasquez and Trisha Angelika C. Ignacio