I ask that question because sometime ago I wrote two books about grandmothers. The first one is entitled "The Boy Who Had Five Lolas" and the second, "All Aboard with Five Lolas."
Why five and not two?
In truth, a person only has two lolas-one is the mother of his/her mother, and two, the mother of his/her father.
But in the Philippines, most children call all the sisters of their lolas and all the wives of their lolos -- on both sides -- lola.
My mother had four sisters with whom she was very close. They were pals, and I called all of them auntie. But when they grew older and became grandmothers, I referred to them as the five lolas, especially when they got together, which was often, and chatted till the wee hours of the morning.
They were my inspiration in writing the two books on grandmothers.
In one event where I did a book talk on these two storybooks, I asked the audience composed of schoolchildren, "How many of you have two lolas?"
All of them naturally raised their hands. Then my publisher offered to give away free books to the kid or kids who had the most lolas. About a dozen kids came forward.
"I have five!" "I have six!" "I have seven!" "I have eight!"
Then one of them cried at the top of his voice, "I have thirty-eight!"
Huh? Everyone in the audience shrieked in unison, "Thirty-eight?!"
I asked the kid, Ziggy, who was about eight, "You really have 38 lolas?"
"Opo," Ziggy replied, smiling widely.
His mother confirmed his answer. She explained, "We have a very big clan that meets every year for a grand reunion. I have 37 aunties in that clan (including in-laws), plus my mother -- a total of 38. He calls them all lola.â€
"Ahhh!" the audience looked at each other and nodded.
Ziggy got free books as his prize for having the most number of lolas in that event.
In the Philippines and other Asian countries, the family is very important. A family includes parents, their children and extended family members ranging from grandparents to uncles, aunts and cousins -- sometimes even relatives from other places who just happen to have the same surname. In many cases, a family even includes godparents.
The success or failure of younger Filipinos are linked to their elders and to their family by society. For example, a crime committed by one person in Western culture means personal, individual shame, but in the Philippines, it is a loss of face for the entire family. This encourages caring among the members of the extended family.
In Filipino culture, we value family members highly and we revere our parents and elders. That's why most Filipino families are closely knit.
All family members are encouraged to respect their elders and recognize them as seniors.
How about you? Have you counted how many lolas you have? Kiss their hand (mano) and greet them all a happy New Year!
I need some New Year shockers. Will you let me know if you have more lolas than Ziggy? Email me at gdchong@gmail.com or send a message via my blog: www.leavesofgrace.blogspot.com