The Republic of the Philippines is a nation composed of 7,107 islands.

Philippines
has been colonized by various foreign invaders namely the Spaniards , Japanese and
Americans. Among these three invaders, Spaniards’ 333 years of colonizing Philippines
have greatly influenced the Filipinos until today. Most of the Filipinos practice Roman
Catholic Religion, the “retablos” or devotional paintings and “santos” or statutes
of saints found in the Roman Catholic Churches symbolized their firm faith and religion.
Filipinos are also fond of celebrations. Christmas, New Year and Fiestas are three
of the most popular celebrations loved by the Filipinos. These celebrations gather
families , friends and relatives together, reuniting and strengthening the bonds over
foods and drinks. During these special occasions, a favorite food called “lechon”,
a suckling pig that has been roasted until the skin turns crusty is often served. In
fact the Philippines is known as the Asia’s melting pot because of the uniqueness and
variety of their food. Filipinos have a regular eating schedule: morning, mid-morning,
lunch “merienda” and dinner. They can’t also go a day without having rice in their
meals. They also love sweet foods which encouraged them to make their own desserts like
“mahablanca” a dessert made of coconut milk, corn, and sugar, “puto” and “palitaw”
which are also made of coconut milk. They also enjoy eating “halo-halo” which means
“mixture”, a popular dessert that consists of layers of cornflakes, ice cream, small
pieces of gelatin, milk and shaved ice.
The Filipino celebrations are dull without entertainment that's why Filipinos are
also very fond of music.They also love performing dances like Tinikling and Cariñosa
and group singing during festive celebrations. Most of Filipino music is contemporary
and based on real life events.
Filipinos are not only skilled when it comes to industry but also in sports. Long
before the arcade games came into being, early games enjoyed by the elders include
“patintero” ,” sungka”, “ piko”, “tumbang preso” , “chato” and “sepak takraw”.
These games show the creativity of Filipino minds.
Filipinos are known to be hospitable around the globe which helped the country to
have more tourists visiting the wonders of Philippine islands. One of the best sights
in the Philippines is the Banaue Rice Terraces which ranked as the eighth wonder of the
modern world. The rice terraces showcased the perseverance and ingenuity of the Filipinos.
The traditional humble homes of Filipinos in the provinces called “Bahay-Kubo” also
catches the attention of foreign visitors. Its structure is made from materials like
pawid, kugon and nipa which manifests the cleverness and resourcefulness of Filipinos.

The Philippines has a very unique culture due to the influences of colonization
and the surrounding countries. Filipino people thrive to survive. They are known as
settlers in many parts of the world, they are like chameleons who can easily adapt to
different kinds of environment.