Filipino Christmas songs: 10 iconic tracks

With Christmas only a few days away, it’s no surprise that some overseas Filipino workers wax sentimental over holiday memories of home. Whether you’re preparing to go carolling, performing at the community Christmas party, or just enjoying a well-earned day off, here are 10 iconic Filipino Christmas songs to bring some cheer and comfort for the holidays.

A Christmas staple, “Christmas in Our Hearts” originated from the poem “Ang Tubig Ay Buhay (Water Is Life)” by Assumption College High School alumna Chari Cruz Zarate. Jose Mari Chan set a melody for the verses in 1988 for the 25th anniversary of Zarate’s high school batch.

Two years later, Chan decided to use the melody in his first Christmas album, co-writing lyrics to the Filipino Christmas song with Rina Cañiza. Chan also tapped his daughter to sing with him after Lea Salonga and Monique Wilson, fresh from their stints in “Miss Saigon,” were unable to reach the recording studio.

While producers at the time thought the song would be a flash in the pan, “Christmas in Our Hearts” proved to be a smash hit—with the song reaching triple platinum status within weeks of its release.

The origin of Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit is a story of two Filipino Christmas songs: an earlier Cebuano version created in 1933 and a Tagalog version with the same melody released between 1936 to 1938.

According to Ivar Tulfo Garcia, founder and trustee of the Kultura Bisaya Foundation, Inc., “Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit” originated from the Visayan song “Kasadya Ning Takna-a,” composed in 1933 by Vicente Daclan Rubi with lyrics by Mariano Vestil and assistance from Manuel Velez. It was part of the score for a play by Rafael Policarpio.

In 1950, Rubi sold the rights to the song to the Manila-based Mabuhay Recording Company, owned by Luiz Punzalan Villar Sr. and launching pad of historic singers like Sylvia La Torre, Pilita Corrales, and Basil Valdez. Though he was paid an advance and promised royalties from the tune’s sales, Rubi had to endure a 22-year legal battle to get his due. Sadly, he did not live long enough to hear a court rule in his favour in 1998.

On the other hand, the Tagalog version of this Filipino Christmas song was written by National Artist Levi Celerio and composed by his best friend Josefino “Pepe” Cenizal, who was an actor, director, and musical director in his younger days. According to Inquirer.net, Cenizal’s “Ang Pasko Ay Sumapit” is a reinterpretation of background music he composed in 1937 for the movie “Pugad ng Aguila (Eagle’s Aerie)” by Parlatone Productions.

Composed by acclaimed musician Ryan Cayabyab and written by director Jose Javier Reyes, “Kumukutikutitap” was created for choir competition. Cayabyab and Javier had penned a mini musical on the nativity titled “Bituin (The Star of Bethlehem)” and were ready to debut it in 1983.

However, the competition they were slated to join was cancelled after politician Ninoy Aquino was shot in Manila International Airport (now known as Ninoy Aquino International Airport) on Aug. 21, 1983.

With the competition called off, Cayabyab allowed the Singers’ Foundation to add the Filipino Christmas song to their repertoire in 1984. Three years later, Joey Albert popularized “Kumukutikutitap” in her Christmas Album “Maligayang Pasko.”

“Payapang Daigdig” is a Filipino Christmas song of peace.

According to the stories, a young Felipe de Leon looked out a window in Manila in 1945 and saw the destruction wrought by World War II and the Battle of Manila. The painful sight and his wish for peace reportedly inspired him to compose “Payapang Daigdig.” Brigido Batungbakal and Eduardo de Leon later helped him with the lyrics.

Over the years, multiple choirs and soloists have interpreted the Philippine counterpart of “Silent Night,” including Lea Salonga, Regine Velasquez, the Himig Singers, the Ryan Cayabyab Singers, and the Philippine Madrigal Singers. The song even became part of the soundtrack of the Filipino version of the popular Korean film “Miracle in Cell No. 7.”

De Leon would go on to earn the title National Artist, composing historic songs, including the memorable Filipino Christmas songs “Pasko na Naman” and “Noche Buena.”

According to writer Baby A. Gil, this Filipino Christmas song created by National Artists Celerio and de Leon is inspired by the Spanish paso doble and is usually performed with a rondalla accompaniment.

And along with “Noche Buena,” this song is part of every Christmas caroller’s repertoire. Imagine it this way: You’re watching your favourite show on satellite TV when you hear the tansans and tambourines accompanying your neighbourhood carollers’ rendition of “Pasko na Naman” outside your window.

Made popular by Filipino balladeer Ariel Rivera, Jimmy Borja’s “Sana Ngayong Pasko” was inspired by Borja’s first love.

Borja remembered his first love fondly, even 14 years after she had moved away from the Philippines. He saw her again in their hometown in Bohol in 1992. But by the time they reconnected, she was already engaged. 

A year later, Borja used inspiration from their meeting to compose “Sana Ngayong Pasko” in 90 minutes. He then submitted the song to BMG Records, who was looking for a holiday song for Rivera’s 1993 Christmas album “Paskong Walang Katulad.” 

The Filipino Christmas song became the album’s biggest hit. It even inspired teleseryes in 2009 and 2019.

“I just think the lyrics, as well as the music of ‘Sana Ngayong Pasko,’ somehow relates to a lot of people to a certain extent,” Rivera told ABS-CBN. “During the Yuletide season, we seek to be with the people most important to us and people we love. But somehow, due certain circumstances, it doesn’t always work out that way.”

“Pasko na Sinta Ko” traces its origins in the University of the Philippines – Diliman campus. Written by UP music professor Aurelio Estanislao and composed by Francisco Dandan, the sentimental Filipino Christmas song was inspired by the love story between Aurelio’s students Alfredo “Fredo” Gutierrez and Melba Solidum.

Gutierrez and Solidum fell in love during their time in the UP Concert Chorus. However, the two were forced to part ways before Christmas when Solidum had to go to the United States for graduate school.

Estanislao saw how the separation broke Gutierrez’s heart and recorded his observations through song.

In 1977, the UPCC performed the final version of “Pasko na Sinta Ko” at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. The choir’s conductor Rey T. Paguio even had Gutierrez sing the opening solo.

Years after the song’s debut, Gutierrez and Solidum went on to live separate lives. The song also became a pop hit in 1986 after Gary Valenciano added it to his Christmas album with help from his then-girlfriend and now-wife Angeli Pangilinan-Valenciano, who was a student at UP.

In 2019, Gutierrez left the Philippines and joined the many Filipinos in Canada. Unfortunately, he was unable to reconnect with Solidum, who passed away in 2016.

Today, Gutierrez believes the song’s meaning has gone beyond the story of his first love.

“If you were an OFW working abroad or whatever it is that you do elsewhere around the world, and you’re far away from your family; you can be far away from your dearest friend; you can be far away from your husband, your kids, whoever. The theme is always there,” Gutierrez told ABS-CBN. “The essence of the song is always like missing someone you love. Missing someone dear and you can’t be with them during that Christmas season because you are far apart. So I would say it has become the universal essence of the song itself.”

Made popular by Susan Fuentes, the 1970s Queen of Visayan Songs, this Filipino Christmas song is an example of Manila Sound, which infuses English and Filipino lyrics with rock and roll, jazz, and funk to create the unique melodies that characterised Pinoy urban life in the 1970s.

Hermie Uy and Fe Ayala’s iconic Christmas carol has since been performed by a bevy of OPM stars, including Sharon Cuneta, Sarah Geronimo, Ice Seguerra, Morissete and St. Wolf, and Rico J. Puno.

Another hit by Celerio and de Leon, the song teaches us about a beloved Filipino Christmas tradition. And according to GMA’s popular magazine show Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho, because the lyricist Celerio was from Bulacan, the song features a Bulaceño tradition of eating tinolang manok (chicken tinola) for breakfast on Christmas day.

Since its debut, “Noche Buena” has become a traditional Christmas song for choirs, chorales, pop singers, and variety shows.

Written by Eva Vivar and composed by Celso Abenoja, “Christmas Bonus” was released in Aegis’s Christmas album “Paskung Pasko.”

The Pinoy band told ABS-CBN News they dedicated the Filipino Christmas song “to the hard-working employees that most of us can relate to.”

The song became so popular that today’s fans request the band to perform the song at any time of the year. It has even become part of the score for Philippine Educational Theater Association’s hit musical “Rak of Aegis.”

Learn more about Kabayan Remit here or download the app here.

Kabayan Remit is a secure money transfer app that lets OFWs send savings to reputable banks, e-wallets, and remittance centres in the Philippines. The service also boasts competitive exchange rates, a sulit rewards program, and a 24/7 bilingual support team to help Pinoys make the most of their remittances.

Whether you’ll be celebrating and singing Christmas songs in the Philippines or overseas this year, there’s a safe way to send love to your family back home.