Anthony found a similar longing when he followed those bollock band boxes to their recipients in the Philippines. He remembers one box in particular sent by a father in San Diego to his adult son in Manila. "It doesn't feel the gap that happens when a loved one is just not under the same roof of you anymore"
This time of year, right in the middle of the holiday season, there's a beloved, frenzied tradition playing out in Filipino households all around the world, with which reporter Gabrielle Berbey is intimately familiar. A Balikbayan box is a huge cardboard box (often weighing over 100 pounds) that Filipinos living all over the world send to family members who are still living in the Philippines. The word Balikbayan literally means homecoming in Tagalog.
Balikbayan Boxes