IT IS finally September 1, which means the Philippines’ long celebration of Christmas has begun!
As early as August, several shoppers have flocked to the Dapitan Arcade in Manila to buy Christmas decorations like Christmas trees, lanterns, and lights at lower prices.
Dapitan Arcade, along with commercial center Divisoria in Manila, is known to be one of the go-to places for cheaper Christmas decorations.
Aside from early Christmas shopping, Filipinos have another way of welcoming “Ber” months in a funny way: creating and sharing memes online. When we talk about Christmas memes in the country, most Filipinos have one person in mind—singer-songwriter Jose Mari Chan.
Chan, 79, is best known for his hit Christmas songs “Christmas in Our Hearts,” “A Perfect Christmas,” “Mary’s Boy Child,” “A Wish on Christmas Night,” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” among others. All these songs are part of his 1990 “Christmas in Our Hearts” album.
Since August, Filipino netizens have been sharing memes featuring the iconic singer-songwriter.
Among them is the August 27 art made by AJ Bacar, a comic artist and creator of SSKAIT.
In his art, Chan, who was wearing a Santa hat, could be seen at the center of a melting ice block. The image had the text, “He’s defrosting guys…”
Philippine Concerts also posted a Chan-related meme where the singer could be seen peeping on the left side of the photo, accompanied by the text, “Wake me up when September begins.”
Under him was an image of rock band Green Day’s vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong, along with the text, “Wake me up when September ends.” These lines referred to the band’s hit song “Wake Me Up When September Ends” in 2004.
The same photo of Chan was used in another meme—this time, featuring another Christmas and music icon, Mariah Carey.
The meme read, “Ilang araw na lang makakanta na kami at maka-pangaroling ka na.”
Meanwhile, a netizen edited a photo of Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira, replacing her face with Chan’s.
They also changed the lyrics of Shakira’s song “Whenever, Wherever,” with “Whenever, Whenever, Whenever I see boys and girls.”
Chan’s memes have also taken over X (formerly Twitter), with one netizen using the Christmas icon’s peeping image to ask other social media users about their romantic relationship status.
“Hoy! Malapit na akong kumanta, may lovelife ka na ba?” the meme read.
A Filipino K-pop fan, on the other hand, generated a new meme for EXO-Ls, or fans of the K-pop boy group EXO, by collaborating images of Chan and EXO’s D.O. with Drake’s “Hotline Bling” meme.
D.O., or Doh Kyungsoo in real life, is set to hold the second day of his “BLOOM” fan concert in Manila on September 1.
Other Christmas memes
Several netizens also made their own versions of Christmas memes, without featuring Chan or Carey.
One social media user showcased the popular ogre Shrek in their meme, adding the question, “Ber months na next month. Gusto mo ba maging star ng pasko ko boss?”
The official Facebook page of GMA Drama also posted a Christmas meme featuring Kapuso actress Barbie Forteza as Adelina in the family drama “Pulang Araw.”
The meme, which showed Forteza putting up a Christmas lantern, read, “Yung ready ka na para sa Ber months.”
While Christmas Day is yet to be celebrated, these memes have already delivered joy and laughter to many Filipino netizens.
Chan on his Christmas memes, songs
In an episode of “The Howie Severino Podcast” in September 2022, Chan shared that he felt “proud” seeing his memes and songs invading social media timelines once the “Ber” months began.
“I feel proud because, you know, I’ve said this many times that I consider my songs like my children. These songs came from the womb of my heart,” he said.
He continued, “When a song of mine becomes popular, it’s like seeing your son becoming president of a company, president of a bank.”
A recent video of Chan’s emotional performance of “Christmas in Our Hearts” during a Christmas tree lighting ceremony in a mall tugged at netizens’ heartstrings, with some acknowledging his significant role in the country’s Christmas celebration.
The clip, posted by a netizen on TikTok, has now garnered four million views.
In an interview with “24 Oras,” Chan shared that he became emotional when the crowd requested him to perform “Christmas in Our Hearts” and sang along with him.
“Sabi ko, ‘It’s only July! Buti na lang, I had my minus one, and when I began to sing, the whole audience sang along, so I was deeply touched and moved by the spontaneity of the people, young and old alike,” he explained.
“Christmas in Our Hearts” is one of the holiday songs that has received a lot of love from Filipinos.
