Pasalubong – A Filipino Tradition

Hi Everyone!

Last week, we traveled to Baguio City and had a great time. We visited a lot of nice places and did a lot of great things. Before we left, Mama took me to the public market to buy “pasalubong” for the rest of our family. I asked Mama why we do that whenever we go somewhere.

Mama said pasalubong is a Tagalog word which if translated in the American language would be “keepsake or presents”.

She said that pasalubong is a “gift for a relation or friend brought by” a “traveler returning from a trip,” and could also refer to “anything given as a gift to someone on the way home to a certain place. These returning travelers are known as balikbayan.

Pasalubong is usually local foods or things from the country where the Filipino traveler came from. For example, someone from Hawaii will bring macadamia nuts while someone that came from the Philippines might give decorations that are made up of kapis shells.

She told me, In the Philippines it has acquired the meaning of a gift or souvenir from someone traveling either visiting or upon returning home or someone who happens to be away from  the house for a period of time or just a day out of the house. The literal meaning of pasalubong is to “greet”, “surprise” or “meet with”. It is often suggest as “salubong” or refers to the act of meeting someone who just arrived and the one arriving, having been warm welcomed, compensates them with a pasalubong. It is not really the pasalubong that matters to a family, but the person who comes back home after a long time.

Mama said that pasalubong is very popular among Filipinos as it keeps the bond with friends, family, relatives or someone who does have a close relationship with you. The gesture of handing out “pasalubong” conveys that loved ones are being remembered while away. Pasalubong can range from food items such as fruits, imported confectionery goods and other sweets (i.e. chips, canned goods and the most common are chocolates). Pasalubong can also be other items such as shirts, novelty items, knives and toys among others. Pasalubongs are often not wrapped and given to someone as it is.

Mama said that a Balikbayan box is sometimes considered as pasalubongs by Filipinos. But unlike the traditional way of pasalubongs, it is sent as a box full of items/gifts. These gifts are usually packed in a balikbayan (which literally means, “return to town or nation”) box, which are large standardized carboard boxes.

She said that pasalubong may or may not be a souvenir from another place. It could be anything, either wild, native, gadgets as long as it is given to them as present.

I am really happy that we, in the Philippines, have such great traditions that show how much we care for our family and friends.

Good-bye for now!

Technorati Tags: balikbayan, Family, Friends, gifts, pasalubong, Philippines, souvenirs, Traditions, Travel