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Jump for Joy
  Located in the western Pacific Ocean about 500 mi. (800 km.) southeast of China, the Philippines is northeast of Borneo and directly south of Taiwan. The country has a land area approximately the size of Italy's. The two largest islands, accounting for two-thirds of this territory, are heavily populated Luzon in the north and Mindanao in the south. The smaller islands that lie between these two main islands are known collectively as the Visayas. Ten other islands make up most of the remaining land area of the country. Only 154 of the Philippine islands have land areas over 5.5 sq. mi. (14 sq. km.). A large part of the country is mountainous, part of a belt of volcanoes circling the Pacific. Mount Apo on Mindanao is the highest. Earthquake tremors are frequent, and major earthquakes occur every decade or so. In 1976, an earthquake centered on Mindanao killed 8,000 people. A less-powerful quake hit Luzon in July 1990, killing more than 1,000. The climate of the Philippines is tropical. Rainfall averages more than 80 in. (200 cm.) annually, but varies considerably from region to region. Most parts of the Philippines experience wet and dry seasons. Typhoons often cause flooding and much loss of life and property as well as widespread power failures. Temperatures average from 75° to 85° F. (24° to 30° C). April and May are the hottest months, while the cool season extends from November to February. Filipinos have a strong sense of collective identity despite the fact that 116 languages and dialects are spoken on the islands. One reason is that 92 percent of all Filipinos are Christian, most of them Roman Catholic. The Philippines is the only Christian country in East Asia, a result of Spanish colonial Catholicization. Five percent of the population, largely on Mindanao, is Islamic. The fact that a majority of Filipinos also speak English, in addition to their local dialects, contributes to this sense of oneness. English is one of two official languages, and its widespread use makes the Philippines the third-largest English-speaking land in the world, after the U.S. and Britain. The country also produces English-language literature that is ot high quality. Pilipino, a language based on the Tagalog dialect of Luzon, is the other official language. Growing numbers of Filipinos speak Pilipino. Radio, television, movies, and comic books have significantly contributed to its expanding use. Since 1988, all official government communications have been written in Pilipino. Pilipino is expected to replace English as the language of instruction at the university level during the 1990s. The Filipino life-style is a blend of the different cultures that have influenced the islands in historic times, but, almost invariably, Filipinos have added their own unique touch to what they have borrowed from others. Christianity came with Spanish rule, but Filipinos also established two denominations of their own. Western-style dress is widespread in the Philippines, but all Filipinos who can afford to do so dress up for festivals in fiesta dress—also a mix of the Spanish and indigenous. The balintawak dress, with its butterfly shoulders, is the formal costume for women. On special occasions, men wear a shirt called the barong tagalog, made of pineapple fiber. They wear it outside the pants—a practice that began in the 1800s as a nationalist symbol of opposition to continued Spanish rule. The Spaniard tucked his shirt in, so the Filipino refused to, proclaiming his rejection of Spanish ways. | |
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