Apayao town showcases snow-inspired ‘Christmas village’

FILE: A portion of the Christmas village in Pudtol, Apayao. (Photo courtesy of MLGU Pudtol)

PUDTOL, Apayao—Residents of Pudtol in Apayao province welcome the yuletide season with the first-ever Christmas village inspired by western culture.

Often seen on Facebook, Instagram and other social networking sites, a sculpture of snow man, a reindeer with sleigh, a giant white Christmas tree with glittering lights, a traditional nativity scene, huge colorful boxes of gifts with an angel, bells, and a candy house are just among the attention-grabbing exhibit in front of the relatively new municipal hall building of Pudtol this December.

For one, various departments of the municipal government helped squeeze their creative juices to come up with a grand Christmas village, set up for the first time in the municipal town hall.

During the ceremonial light up, led by town mayor Hector Pascua on Wednesday evening, some officials and employees could hardly contain their excitement with the turn out of their “labor of love” for the young boys and girls of Pudtol.

The name of the municipality was derived from “Putol”, a local term of the natives that means cutting or chopping anything, like cutting-off a head in their traditional head-hunting or beheading as they did to the priest then assigned in the area more than 400 years ago.

History has it that during the ancient times, or before the arrival of the Spaniards, the natives of the place were pagans.

Deities locally known as “an-anitos” greatly influenced their tradition and beliefs as they worship the mountains, rivers, trees and animals among others.

Then in 1607, the Spanish Dominicans missionaries reached the place and Christianity had spread there.

For Jovie Gaspar, a resident of the remote sitio of Malibang in Mataguisi village said she “need not travel far to fill her young boy’s excitement during Christmas.

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After the ceremonial light up, children and adults took their “selfies” and “groufies” at the Christmas village, where Christmas carols are played and reverberate across the cold and windy town plaza.