Guests gather outside the Philippine Embassy for the Lighting Ceremony (photos by Berlin PE)
The cold winter night of December 4 in central Berlin was enlivened with uniquely Filipino cheer with the lighting of traditional Filipino Christmas lanterns from Pampanga on the new Philippine Embassy building’s façade, complemented by additional lighting effects.
Philippine Ambassador to Germany Theresa Dizon-de Vega and Deputy Chief of Mission Lillibeth Pono led the lighting ceremony for the event.
The Embassy, which is located in the same area as Berlin’s landmarks, such as the Reichstag (home of the German Parliament) and the Brandenburg Gate, became an instant attraction for the city’s residents after the ceremony.
Amb. Dizon-de Vega (second from left) with Cambodian Ambassdor Touch Sopharath (extreme left) and former German Ambassador to the Philippines Thomas Ossowski (second from right), and Mrs. Angellica Ossowski (extreme right) with their children.
In her remarks during the event, Ambassador Dizon-de Vega said that the event is the Embassy’s way of sharing our homeland’s traditions with our German and other international friends, as the Embassy celebrates its first Christmas in the new Chancery in the heart of the German capital.
Close to 200 guests from the German Government, the diplomatic corps, media, the Embassy’s neighbors, and the city’s Filipino community were serenaded by Filipino singer and Europop Song Competition veteran Marielle Mamaclay and Starlight Express Germany lead actor Dolan José with their renditions of Christmas classics Himig ng Pasko and Stille Nacht (Silent Night), respectively.
The Embassy’s interior also had its share of Christmas decorations. The centerpiece was a Christmas tree with barong-clad Santa Clauses and angels made of Manila hemp (abaca).
Delighted guests enjoyed Christmas favorites like bibingka and lechon accompanied by Benguet Arabica coffee and traditional German gluhwein as festive Filipino Christmas orchestra music and scenes of Christmas in the Philippines filled the halls of the Embassy. END
Some of the German guests, including two of the Embassy’s neighbors in Berlin-Mitte.
