PHILIPPINES: Noche Buena - Joey Albert
Constituting the largest Christian nation in Asia, the Philippines has a wealth of different Christmas carols and anthems both religious and secular. Noche Buena by Joey Albert mixes the two creating a pop song about the Filipino Christmas traditions surrounding Christmas Eve. Unlike in the Western world where Christmas day is typically the main day of celebrations, Christmas Eve is the most special time of the festive period for Filipinos as they gather together with family to see in the Midnight Mass and the Noche Buena Feast, after much anticipation that lasts from September 1st, when they begin their countdown to Christmas, making it the longest Christmas season in the world. Despite its Spanish name due to their colonial past, the song is actually sung in Tagalog. It is a jaunty tune that commemorates the joy of gathering at Christmas and the food they are about to tuck into.
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