Quilted Christmas balls
are ornaments made of cloth, laces, sequins, beads and bindis with back adhesives as bling. Images by Geralyn Evangelista
How & what’s it made A quilted Christmas ball is composed of a 2.5x2.5 inch (15x15cm) styroball, aida cloth, 45-60 pieces of 2x2 inch (10x10 cm) of decorative cloth, folded into triangles and pinned on to the ball by about 70-100 pins and about 3-5 meters of decorative ribbons, beads and sequins to complete the ornament. Materials are sourced from Crawford fabric market in Mumbai and batiks in Jakarta.
AUSTRIA
Pasko Ng Pilipino Pinoy Christmas in Austria Words by Ralph Chan Why is Christmas different this year? Christmas is known to be the time of the year when families and friends celebrate together. This year, however, a lot is different. We are currently experiencing the world’s largest health crisis. Christmas market(s) or as they say in Austria, Christkindlmarkt, are not allowed to open this year and on Christmas Eve we can only celebrate it with a limited number of loved ones. In addition to the health crisis, Vienna was hit by a terrorist attack. In both crises, many have lost their loved ones. This year’s Christmas season makes us therefore more reflective. Despite all the negativity that has been with us throughout the year, we do not allow these to snatch joy away from us. Notably because the Filipinos are known to celebrate the longest Christmas.
Thanks to the Filipino immigrants who brought Christmas traditions from the Philippines with them to Austria, this has also had an impact on the way we celebrate Christmas here today. We realise that this as a time of love and for the family. Belen, Parol at iba pa The first preparations for the Christmas season begin with the so-called BER
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