Here’s Zugbu’s shipping schedule for 2010.

Sept 6 and 20, Oct 4, 11, 18, 25 and Nov 1.

Oct 25 cut-off for Visayas-Mindanao and some areas in Luzon.

Nov 1 cut-off for nearby Luzon.

Please be guided with these schedules!

Notice: Schedule for shipping may change without prior notice and delay beyond our control.

Avail of of our special package prices this month. Call (630) 860-7610 or (773) 206-6441 to have your balikbayan boxes picked-up and shipped to the Philippines.

In the United States, Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches and ceremonies, and various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the national day of the United States.

Read more: Independence Day (United States)

Fiestas in the Philippines are held to celebrate a patron saint (the Philippines is the only majority-Christian country in Southeast Asia) or to mark the passage of the seasons, depending on which part of the country you’re in. The sole exception is Christmas, where the whole country breaks out in celebrations that can begin long before December.

The roots of Philippine fiestas go back even further – back to before the Spanish conquistadores arrived in the 1500s. In the old animistic culture, regular ritual offerings were made to placate the gods, and these offerings evolved into the fiestas we know today. A wonderful fiesta season means good luck for the rest of the year.

Read more: Philippines Fiestas

Lent

Conventionally, it is described as being forty days long, though different denominations calculate the forty days differently. The forty days represent the time that, according to the Bible, Jesus spent in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry, where he endured temptation by Satan.^[1]

This practice was virtually universal in Christendom until the Protestant Reformation.^[2] Some Protestant churches do not observe Lent, but most, such as Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Anglicans, andEpiscopalians, do.

Read more: Wikipedia

New Year’s Day is the first day of the year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1, as it was also in ancient Rome (though other dates were also used in Rome). In all countries except for Israel using the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar, it is a public holiday, often celebrated with fireworks at the stroke of midnight as the new year starts. January 1 on the Julian calendar corresponds to January 14 on the Gregorian calendar, and it is on that date that followers of some of the Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate the New Year. In Western Christianity New Year’s Day, January 1, is the eighth day of Christmas.

Read more at: Wikipedia

Photo: A leaders Journal

SIMBANG GABI is one of the longest and most popular among the Filipino traditions in the country. It is when Catholic churches across the nation start to open their doors shortly before the break of dawn to welcome the faithful to the Simbang Gabi mass.

Simbang Gabi or Mass at Dawn is a nine-day novena to the Blessed Mother. The novena begins December 16 as early as 4 in the morning and culminates with the “Misa de Gallo” on Christmas Eve to welcome the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. In some churches, the panuluyan is reenacted showing the effort of Joseph and Mary to find a suitable birthplace.

Read more: Simbang Gabi

Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival celebrated primarily in Canada and the United States. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.

The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. The traditional “first Thanksgiving” is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s.^{[citation needed]} This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America’s first. Elementary school teacher Robyn Gioia has argued that the earliest attested “thanksgiving” celebration in what is now the United States was celebrated by the Spanish on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida.^[1][2] Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends.

Read more: Thanksgiving at Wikipedia
Image: Wikipedia