Happy birthday, Pilipinas!

MANILA, Philippines – Each year, Filipinos pay tribute to the heroes that came before them and show their gratitude by celebrating Independence Day.

A country’s independence gives birth to the freedom of its people and serves as a reminder to be proud of the land from which they hail. On June 12, the Philippines celebrated another birthday as a free nation. It was a day of happiness and gratefulness for every Filipino.

This year, Jollibee asked Filipinos what their gift to the country was with the launch of the Happy Birthday Pilipinas Project. The country’s leading fast food chain appealed to Filipinos to voice out their commitment via social media and to spring into action through simple acts that they could do for their country as their gift to the Philippines.  

Many people participated in posting their gifts to the Philippines. As their gift to the country, Jollibee gathered the best of these tweets and used them to decorate a big cake to celebrate the nation’s freedom. The birthday cake was unveiled as part of a simple yet symbolic Independence Day program at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite, where the Philippine flag was first hoisted and the Marcha Nacional Filipina was played before Filipinos in 1898.

So what did you do for the country’s birthday? Check out the video and tweets below to see what other Filipinos did to commemorate the occasion, greeting the country with a big #HappyBdayPilipinas. – Rappler.com

American cupcake, National Celebration Vector Philippines images from Shutterstock