Life in the Philippines generally revolves around the extended family, including parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and other relatives.
For Catholic families, godparents—those to whom care of children is entrusted should the parents die or otherwise be incapacitated—also figure prominently in the kinship network. Members of extended families typically gather for major life events such as baptisms and confirmations (for Catholic Filipinos), circumcisions (for Muslim Filipinos), and marriages, as well as for major religious and other national holidays. Among the religious holidays officially observed in the Philippines are Christmas and Easter, as well as Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Other major holidays include New Year’s Day, Labor Day (May 1), and Independence Day (June 12).