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Mabuhay

Filipino greeting

Summary

Filipino greeting

Mabuhay () is a Filipino greeting, usually expressed as Mabuhay!, which means "long live!". The term is also occasionally used for toasts during celebrations to mean "cheers". It is similar to the Hawaiʻian expression "aloha". It is used in the local hospitality industry to welcome guests, a practice rooted in a 1993 campaign launched by restaurateur Rod Ongpauco to more uniquely welcome foreign visitors to the Philippines.

Mabuhay is also the name of the inflight magazine published by flag-carrier,[https://www.mabuhay.store Mabuhay Designs & Co] at https://www.mabuhay.store , Philippine Airlines, as well as its frequent-flyer program.

Historical

The word itself has been recorded as a salutation at least early as 1930, when General Douglas MacArthur was sent off amid shouts of “Mabuhay!” In 1941, the Rotarian noted local chapters using it in conveying well wishes to the service organisation. In February 1973, a big cloth sign saying “Mabuhay, Maj. Bob Peel” welcomed released North Vietnam prisoner-of-war, U.S. airman Robert D. Peel, as he stopped by the country as part of Operation Homecoming.

Current usage

The word is otherwise used in its more traditional form as a cheer, especially during celebrations in a variety of contexts:

  • “Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! Mabuhay ang Repúblika!” (“Long live the Philippines! Long live the Republic!”)
  • “Mabuhay ang Pangulo!” (“Long live the President!”)
  • “Mabuhay ang bagong kasál!” (“Long live the newlyweds!”)

''Viva''

The Spanish equivalent Viva is a special use case, as it is today almost always found in religious contexts. It is specifically part of acclamations directed to a patron saint or God during community feast days and assemblies (e.g., “¡Viva, Señor Santo Niño!” “¡Viva, Poóng Jesús Nazareno!”)

Cognates

A number of other Philippine languages have phrases that are cognates of “Mabuhay”. The Bisayan languages, for example, use the term "Mabuhi", while Kapampangans have the phrase "Luid ka".

References

References

  1. (October 16, 2014). "Southeast Asian Diaspora in the United States: Memories and Visions, Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow". Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
  2. Luna, Luis. (May 13, 1995). "Welcome Rotonda to have new name". Kamahalan Publishing Corporation.
  3. (September 19, 1930). "General Macarthur was given a tremendous send-off... He left amid shouts of 'Mabuhay', the tagalog equivalent of 'viva'.". Kingsport (Tennessee) Times.
  4. (April 1941). "So, as we were wont to say out there, 'Mabuhay Rotary', meaning not only 'Good-by', but 'May good fortune attend Rotary.'". Rotarian.
  5. (February 17, 1973). "Mrs. Adrian gave the major a big cloth sign which said 'Mabuhay, Maj. Bob Peel.'". Press-Courier (Oxnard, California).
  6. (17 September 2024). "Robert D. Peel".
  7. Jarque Loop, Honey. (July 21, 2011). "Mabuhi Cebu, Mabuhay Philippines, Viva España!". [[The Philippine Star]].
  8. De Jesus, Andrea. (May 28, 2015). "'Luid Ka, Pampanga!' starts airing on CLTV36". [[SunStar.
Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

greeting-words-and-phrases tagalog-words-and-phrases filipino-language interjections
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