ZAMBOANGA CITY HALL: 2000 TO 2012

Zamboanga City Hall is a real historical landmark of Zamboanga City considering that it is already a century old.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Zamboanga_City#b

Zamboanga City Hall - The construction of this building started in 1905 and was completed in 1907 by the Federal Government of the United States for the then American Governors of the area which included: Leonard 0. Wood, Tasker H. Bliss, Ralph W. Hoyt, and Gen. John Pershing of World War I fame. Today, this serves as the City Hall of Zamboanga City where the Mayor holds office.

in 2011

in June 2009

The Zamboanga City Hall is a focal point of the City and during the Christmas season

WHY?

...because of the festive air with all the beautiful lights of the City hall itself and also in the adjacent plazas.
...this is an update of these previous links which I thought I should do to complete the comparisons through the years...

http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/2011_09_01_archive.html

http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/2011/12/zamboanga-city-hall-lights-circa.html  

2000.

2007.

Just wanted to capture the perfect moment with less than perfect shots...

2008.
The Zamboanga City Hall is now more colorful this Christmas.

2010.

Embellishing the century-old City Hall has improved a lot over the years... the lights are brighter and the colors more varied.

They may have spent more, but I think they also made a lot of people happier -- young and old... from ZC and visitors, too.

There is snow in Zamboanga City!

The lights really attracted everyone...and these white flakes you see are not artifacts/specks of the picture but "snow".

How everyone wanted to see the "snow"!

And young and old alike were just excited about it.

Yippeeee!!! We ♥ it here!

ZAMBOANGA CITY HALL 2010.

And the surrounding plazas were also brightly adorned with the neon-lit Plaza Pershing and the meaningful Belen in Plaza Rizal.

The entrance to Plaza Pershing and the gazebo all add up to the Christmas-y air!
And of course, the giant Christmas tree inside!

the brightly lit gazebo in Plaza Pershing

The Nativity Scene in Plaza Rizal is also as attractive and eye-catching! 

the tableau of the nativity in Plaza Rizal near ZC City Hall

A friend commented, that he didn't see this in Cebu that the Zamboanga City Hall area was so beautifully lighted for Christmas.

2011.

I posted about our century-old City Hall separately last year with this link: http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/2011/12/zamboanga-city-hall-lights-circa.html  

And the adjacent plazas were also brightly adorned with the neon-lit Plaza Pershing and the meaningful Belen in Plaza Rizal.

2012.

I just had a glimpse of the Zamboanga City Hall this year!  They just lighted the ZC City Hall together with the other parks just a few days ago!
Everyone again drives around the area or strolls around, of course, for all the photo opportunities!

And a glimpse of the neighboring Plaza Pershing...

We still have to stroll around our parks and have a closer view of the lights and the Belen in Plaza Rizal...

And also move on to the Christmas tree in Paseo Del Mar...

Since ZC is a smaller city, we are so happy to see Christmas in the air in the heart of our City every year!!!. 

NATIVITY SCENE (THE BELEN)

As I was around many hotels and malls in Manila, I found that the symbols now seen are the Christmas tree and Santa Claus!

But what is Christmas really about?
from Wikipedia:

Christmas (Old English: Crīstesmæsse, meaning"Christ's Mass") is an annual commemoration of the birth ofJesus Christ^[5][6] and a widely observed holiday, celebrated generally on December 25^[2][3][4] by billions of peoplearound the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it closes the Advent season and initiates the twelve days of Christmastide.^[7] Christmas is a civil holiday in many of the world's nations,^[8][9][10] is celebrated by an increasing number of non-Christians,^[1][11][12] and is an integral part of the Christmas and holiday season.

So, we shouldn't forget one symbol so meaningful... the BELEN or the Nativity!!!

from Wikipedia:

The Nativity of Jesus, also The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus, primarily based on the two accounts in the gospels of Luke and Matthew, and secondarily on some apocryphal texts. The word is anglicized from Latin De nativitate Iesu,
a section title in the Vulgate.

The canonical gospels of Luke and Matthew describe Jesus being born in Bethlehem, in Judea, to a virgin mother. Luke features the Christmas story, in which Joseph and Mary, as part of a census, travel to Bethlehem, where Jesus is born and laid in a manger.^[1] Angels proclaim him a savior for all people, and shepherds come to adore him. In Matthew, wise men follow a star to Bethlehem to bring gifts to Jesus, born the King of the Jews. King Herod massacres all the toddler boys in Bethlehem to kill Jesus, but the holy family flees to Egypt and later settles in Nazareth. 

I was glad I found a huge Nativity set on one of the facades in Ortigas across EDSA Shangrila and SM North EDSA...

In the area, I also saw a glimpse of a BELEN inside the Jollibee Center and asked my friend to take photos of it! 

I felt that these were the only two Nativity scenes  during my short stay in Manila other than those I saw in the Department Store!

I do hope to see more BELENs as Christmas approaches!!!

GLIMPSE OF THE ATENEO FIESTA 2012

My son just told me that this afternoon of Dec. 2 is the official opening of the Centennial Ateneo Fiesta. I thought the Fiesta opened a few days ago since there were so many activities and booths already in the La Purisima Campus, but he said that was the opening of the JAM or the Jesuit Athletic Meet with 450 athletes from all over other Ateneo schools!

I copied this from the University Treasurer's status on today's activities:

big day for ATFest 2012...parade @ 3:00pm with street dancers joingng our athletes...@ 5:00pm Opening program for the fiesta...pop/modern dance and cheerdance to follow after the opening program...limited seats for MPCC we will implement a color coding by ticket system (free tickets) to avoid overcrowding.. but don't worry we will place a big screen in the backfield for you to watch.....

Then, this will be followed by the Schedule of the Alumni Activities at the later part of the week with my previous post.

http://inpinaysfootsteps.blogspot.com/2012/11/adzu-alumni-homecoming-2012-activities.html

I am now watching from afar...

I remember the time when my son was in Elementary that I had to accompany him going through each and every booth!

And requesting to ride one of the fun rides...

I attended the Grade School night every year and enjoyed the kids' performances!

But, he is now Fourth Year High School and they are now independent and enjoy the company of their classmates and friends!

The fun goes on... especially for the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the Ateneo De Zamboanga University and their friends!!!

CHRISTMAS TREES IN SM MOA AND NORTHEDSA 2012

Since I am into Christmas trees now, I would also like to share about the SM MOA and SM North EDSA Christmas trees that I saw!

SM Mall of Asia.
Just outside SM Mall of Asia...

As we enter SM Mall of Asia...

SM Mall of Asia's theme is Christmas Toy Wonder World!

 

Other Christmas Trees in the Department Store...

SM North EDSA.
I saw the Mickey and Minnie Mouse Tree! Didn't see Hello Kitty there, though...

It is a Mickey-Minnie mouse tree !!!

Donald and Daisy were there for the picture zone beside the tree...

They also had Christmas Trees in the Department Store...

The Peppermint read, green and white tree!

 And on the other side...

And don't forget the Nativity Scene. Saw this in the Department store but didn't see displays of this, though!

Haven't seen the Christmas trees around Zamboanga City yet!