Keeping up community traditions helps Canada feel like home for Filipino family
Samantha Liamzon's mini-doc follows her family's journey from Manila to Regina
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Coming from warm and tropical Manila to cold and snowy Regina was a bit of a culture shock for Samantha Liamzon.
She was barely seven years old when her family uprooted their life and moved to Saskatchewan in 2009.
Now 21, she's pursuing a degree in creative technologies with a minor in film at the University of Regina and plans to get an animation certificate as well.
Samantha is sharing her family's story in a mini-documentary in collaboration with the CBC Creator Network.
The move proved to be a big adjustment for Samantha's parents, both of whom had white collar jobs in the Philippines. In Canada, they had to work in the service industry to pay the bills.
"My experience here was a bit of self pity," said Sherwin Liamzon, Samantha's father.
"I worked executive jobs in the Philippines, like sales and all this kind of stuff. But here, my first job was with the hotel. So I was mopping the floor. I was doing everything just to feed the family."
Sherwin's entire side of the family also came to Canada, which made his transition a little easier. But Samantha's mother, Maria, had to leave her parents and four siblings behind when she left.
"I miss the Philippines all the time. I get emotional every time," Maria said, wiping a tear from her eye.
The couple says it's especially difficult when Maria's mother back home is sick, because all they can do is pray.
"You can't do anything because you're too far," Maria added.
The Liamzon family's situation is not unique. Data from 2021 shows people born in the Philippines made up almost 25 per cent of recent immigrants to Saskatchewan.
Tagalog is the most common non-official mother tongue spoken in the province.
And, according to the Saskatchewan government, this growing diaspora has the most positive rate of settlement and retention among all new immigrants.
The Liamzon family continued to grow as more relatives came to Canada and others were born here. They spend weekends together to stay connected. The family will often go camping together to places like Rowan's Ravine or Echo Valley.
"Every week on Fridays and Saturdays, our families try to get together and spend time with each other. We usually go to my lolo's [grandfather's] house and eat dinner together," said Samantha. "Each family brings food to share, and it's our way of bonding with everyone."
The summer is also marked by weekend barbecues and birthday celebrations with all their favourite Filipino foods, including Chicken Inasal (Filipino grilled chicken), Sinigang (sour soup) , Filipino Adobo chicken, pancit (noodles), kare-kare (stew with peanut sauce), lumpia (a fried spring roll), and molo (Filipino wonton) soup.
As the seasons change, there are special holiday events that keep everyone busy. The Filipino tradition of Simbang Gabi is a highlight.
Simbang Gabi is a nine-day series of masses leading up to Christmas Eve, beginning on Dec. 15. It's marked by prayer, music and star-shaped lanterns. After mass, a huge array of food is enjoyed by all.
"Back in the Philippines, the mass starts at four in the morning, so you really have to wake up early," said family friend Yvette Bauda, who moved to Canada in 2006. "Normally, family or friends go to church, and in your teens, when you have a boyfriend, you bring your boyfriend."
The tradition has been adopted by Catholic churches with Filipino parishioners across Canada, including Regina's Holy Rosary Cathedral, which the Liamzon family attends.
"I guess Christmas here may be not as festive as it was way back in the Philippines," said Cecile Liamzon, who moved to Canada in 2012, "but it gives us an opportunity to bond with each family member and understand the spirit of Christmas, which is love."
These days, the celebrations include grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, dozens of cousins and many close friends. Samantha says it's a very special time for everyone. They play Christmas games together, and have lots of competitions between the adults and the kids with cash prizes on the line.
On New Year's Eve, the family always dresses in the lucky colour of the year, Samantha says. To ring in 2024, they wore peach clothing and polka dots.
According to Filipino tradition, wearing special coloured clothing helps manifest New Years blessings, while polka dots symbolize good fortune as the new year rings in. After dinner, the family usually plays bingo for a few hours before the clock chimes at midnight.
"It gets pretty competitive and exhilarating," Samantha said.
Samantha says most of her family members have already obtained their Canadian citizenships, or plan to, so they can take advantage of Canada's benefits and opportunities.
She says they are also grateful they've been able to build a strong family foundation in Canada by staying true to their Filipino culture.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Samantha Liamzon