THE HAPPIEST PEOPLE ON EARTH / Filipino Spirit - The Filipino Christmas That Almost Wasn't!

Despite a devastating year marked by COVID lockdowns, closed borders, failed small businesses, and a super typhoon hitting days before Christmas, Pea organizes a full-blown Christmas celebration for families in her barangay. She hosts children's games with cash prizes, plays Santa Claus giving out toys to little kids, feeds nearly 100 people a catered Filipino feast, and surprises five hardworking students with brand-new laptops. The video also marks her receiving YouTube's Silver Play Button for reaching 100,000 subscribers.

The bleak backdrop to this Christmas ​

• The Philippines is in its second year of COVID; borders are closed, schools shut down
• Many kids lack equipment for online classes
• Small businesses have failed and families have had to tighten their belts further
• Super Typhoon Rai ripped through the country just days before Christmas, leaving many with nothing
• Pea says Filipinos "rarely get a real Christmas anyway" but this year is especially bad
• She wanted to go door-to-door like Santa but notes: houses don't have chimneys, and some don't even have roofs anymore

The solution: bring the community to her ​

• Instead of going to individual homes, she organizes a party and invites families to come
• She kicks off with children's games before the feast

Children's games with cash prizes ​

• "Fan My Fish" — contestants fan paper fish across a finish line; kids complete it surprisingly fast
• "Flying Rice" — contestants toss a bag of rice and the closest wins; prize money in pesos
• Cash is given directly to winning kids — 100 pesos, 500 pesos in various rounds
• Bills-on-the-floor game where kids grab cash (20 pesos bills)
• Sack races where winning teams get toys and candy
• "Egg Drop" — a messy version of Simon Says

Pea plays Santa for the little ones ​

• She introduces small children to the concept of sitting on Santa's lap — a new tradition for them
• She asks each child if they've been good, then lets them pick a toy
• Toys include cooking sets, stuffed bunnies, toy vehicles, rainbow ribbons
• Many of the children are extremely shy — common in this part of the Philippines
• Several kids have clearly never received gifts before
• One little boy is so eager he's crying; another child picks a big toy truck ("gonna be a driver in the future")
• Pea notes the kids are very shy "in this part of the world"

The impact of COVID on children ​

• Kids have been "virtually locked in their homes for the past two years" due to the virus
• A curfew prevented anyone under 18 from going to malls, restaurants, or stores
• This party is one of the rare times they've been able to get out and socialize
• They've never had a Santa come to their area before, "and definitely not a female one"

The Filipino Christmas feast ​

• The star: lechon (whole roasted pig), always present at fiestas, parties, and birthdays
• Pea's favorite part is the butt cheek; she can smell the lemongrass
• 98 people to feed
• Filipino cultural tradition: kids eat first before adults, all served the same thing
• Kids get fried chicken and sweet spaghetti — Pea acknowledges it "might sound gross to some of you folks" but Filipino kids love it
• Adults get a catered buffet: pansit, beef stew, pork adobo, menudo (Spanish-origin dish of potatoes, carrots, and pork in tomato sauce), and lechon
• The lechon was picked completely to the bone
• During the feast, the breeze picks up from an approaching typhoon; Pea jokes she doesn't "want to pull a Marilyn Monroe" and holds her skirt down
• Describes the result as "a feast of epic proportions with more smiles and laughter than this neighborhood has seen in years"
• "There's nothing like a good feast to make Filipinos forget their worries for a little while"

Five laptops for outstanding students ​

• Pea selects five hardworking students from the barangay for a special surprise
• She has them open their gifts in front of the crowd — five brand-new laptops
• The students' reactions: "Dream come true"
• Context: life in the Philippines is very difficult; these students have been going to public internet cafes to do their schoolwork
• Student profiles:
  • A college student studying B.Ed. Elementary Education at LNU — "our future teacher"
  • A Grade 12 senior high student who will use it for online classes
  • An 18-year-old first-year college student taking up BSBA Business Administration (Pea teases her for looking 12 years old)
  • Another college student also studying BSBA — "another businessman in the future"
  • A Grade 12 student studying bartending — Pea jokes about mixing drinks and cocktails

Silver Play Button reveal ​

• Pea reveals she received YouTube's Silver Play Button for reaching 100,000 subscribers
• She opens it on camera — notes it's "kinda heavy"
• She tells viewers: "I'm really honored that you folks carried me all this way"
• Plans to make 2022 "the best year yet"

Pea's closing message ​

• Compares herself to Santa Claus — "bringing you the gift of good cheer while slaying your doubts about life in the Philippines"
• Promises valuable cultural information and help becoming "wise men so you don't get scrooged by those that don't have your best interest at heart"
• Asks viewers to spend time with loved ones, reflect on what's important, and remember those less fortunate

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