Sunday, June 29, 2008

110th Philippine Independence Day in Scotland


by Rosa Alicia
United Kingdom


The Filipino Community of North East Scotland celebrated the 110th Philippine Independence Day on the 14th of June 2008 at the Station Hotel, Aberdeen. It was my first Filipino Community formal party here in Aberdeen and I was delighted that visitors and guests of different nationalities, in addition to the Scottish people, were there to celebrate with us.

The party included dinner, a short play on when and how Philippine Independence was proclaimed, a fashion show featuring some of our traditional dresses, Philippine folk dances, and instructions on Scottish dance called Ceilidh.

The dinner was especially good and provided a choice between British dishes and the more common Filipino dishes like kare-kare, lumpia, and leche flan. The folk dances included the Pandango sa Ilaw and Tinikling among a few. One part which I especially liked was when guests were invited to try the Tinikling. It was fun to watch how people of different nationalities tried to take nimble steps between the two bamboo poles.

A special Scottish band was invited to play a type of traditional Scottish dance called Ceilidh Dance. Patiently, the band taught us the dance steps, step by step! Every Ceilidh Dance was really lively, fun, and surely took me to the limits of my lungs!

Mrs. Yoly Wilson, the head of the Filipino Community of North East Scotland, did a really good job at coordinating a simple yet elegant celebration for us and the Scottish community. The event was a fusion of our well-loved Filipino culture and the Scottish culture which is close to our hearts here in Aberdeen.

It was definitely a night of happy mingling!

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