Perspective

The Box That Brings Christmas to the Philippines

Each winter, balikbayan boxes—care packages from Filipinos living overseas—make the long journey home that their senders wish they could.
An employee of T-Bar International in Quezon City handles a box sent from a Filipino family in Illinois.Jason Reblando

Editor’s note: Jason Reblando was a Fulbright scholar in 2015, photographing the families of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). The photos of balikbayan boxes and their contents included here are part of his ongoing project on the Filipino diaspora.

If you are Filipino, or have been to a Filipino household, you are probably familiar with one of the most recognizable symbols of the Filipino diaspora: the balikbayan box.