December 23, 2025 | 5:50pm
MANILA, Philippines — We’ve come to the highlight of the Christmas season, which is Christmas Eve and Noche Buena to welcome Christmas Day. In a world where Christmas has become highly commercialized, it always pays to take some time off to remember its true meaning — the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, who came down to earth in human form to save mankind from sin and eternal damnation.
So, there’s really no need to fuss over whether or not a P500 Noche Buena budget is enough or worry about not having ham and Queso de Bola on the table. Even the simplest celebration can bring joy to the family if we have Jesus Christ in our hearts.
But, of course, we sometimes cannot help it if the house next door is glowing with Christmas lights and spectacular giant lantern displays every night and riders keep delivering gifts and parcels to the house across the street. And it does not help to see how merrily “dressed in holiday style” malls are these days. Even online stores are making a killing, and there is that tendency to feel a little sad that we cannot keep in step with everyone else.
Still, there is no need to succumb to modern dictates that say we have to have lots of food on the Noche Buena table, host a lavish party for the clan, and send everyone home with expensive gifts afterwards. There are ways by which we can feel full — and we’re not just talking about tummy fullness, but, more importantly, with genuine love, happiness, and peace even as we celebrate a simple Noche Buena.
Some chefs share tips on how to make Noche Buena more joyful and meaningful.
Made with love
Chef Michael Santos, corporate chef of the Vikings buffet restaurant chain, is all for a simple celebration.
“I feel that Noche Buena is best celebrated with your loved ones. Given the high prices of commodities and the lack of spending money of most of our countrymen, for me, a successful Noche Buena is not measured by what is served but who made it with love. A simple pancit and dessert combination can already be Noche Buena, especially if the whole family contributed in preparing the dishes. It’s not how many or how grand the dishes are. What matters is the way it is celebrated by everyone,” Santos said.
Live within your means
“My tip for you to have a good and meaningful Noche Buena is ‘Don’t go beyond your means,’” said Chef Edward “Ed” Bugia, owner of Flipside Burgers.
He added: “Any feast is meaningful basta taos-puso. Maski simpleng handa, basta pinaghirapan pag-ipunan, lutuin at ipamahagi. Ito ang importante.” (Any feast is meaningful as long as it’s from the heart. Even simple dishes will make a good celebration, as long as you work hard to save up for it, cook it, and share it. This is what’s important.)
One ingredient for a special dish
As a highly accomplished chef who reached international status and later decided to return to his home province of Isabela to share his culinary talent with the community with which he feels most at home, Chef Cocoy Ventura believes in simple but heartfelt celebrations.
“As someone who grows food and cooks it, I’ve learned that abundance doesn’t always arrive at Christmas. Some years, the harvest is generous. Other years, storms come, prices rise, and we make do. But Noche Buena, I’ve found, was never about how much was on the table. It was about who stayed up together to wait for the night to turn holy,” he said.
He added: “When money is tight, like this year because our crops have been ruined by the recent super typhoons, the table doesn’t need to be full. It needs to be thoughtful. One or two dishes cooked with care already speak volumes. A pot of sopas simmered slowly, a humble pancit meant to be shared, or a chicken stretched into Tinola with plenty of broth — these are dishes that warm not just the body but the spirit.”
Chef Cocoy, who now serves as special Operations officer of the Mayor’s Office, Santiago City, Isabela, runs the family-owned Corlyn Farms, and his experience has taught him well.
“On the farm, we’re taught to respect what is available. The same applies to the kitchen. Choose one ingredient to make a dish special — a small ball of Edam cheese sliced thinly, a simple roast chicken instead of Lechon, or one dessert meant to be divided evenly… When everything is scarce, intention becomes the luxury,” he shared.
“Cooking memory also matters. The dishes that remind us of childhood, of parents and grandparents who cooked with far less that what we have today, often bring more comfort than expensive food. These recipes carry stories, and stories are what bind families together,” he continued.
The chef said that Noche Buena becomes lighter when everyone contributes, making the most-awaited time of the year as a shared occasion not a staged one: One brings a dish, another brings ice, yet another leads the prayer or offers a song.
“Small rituals help. A clean table. A warm light in the form of a simple Christmas tree or a parol with light. A quiet moment before eating. These simple acts elevate ordinary food into something sacred,” he said. “And perhaps most importantly, we name what we already have. For families facing illness, loss, or uncertainty, presence itself is the gift. To say out loud that ‘This year, we are grateful we are together’ can be enough.”
As a farmer and a chef, Chef Cocoy has learned that good seasons and hard seasons both pass. But meals shared with sincerity stays not just with him but with everyone.
As he aptly puts it, “In lean years, Noche Buena reminds us that meaning does not come from excess. It comes from care, patience, and gratitude. Sometimes, that is the truest feast.”
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