The song “Christmas in Our Hearts” by Jose Mari Chan has been a part of the Philippines’ Christmas celebration for as long as anyone can remember.
It is simply impossible for the Yuletide season to pass in the Philippines without hearing the song in malls, restaurants, and other public establishments.
Years after his hit song was released, the well-known Filipino singer finally revealed the story behind this Christmas anthem.
In the year 1988, Chan returned to the Philippines after spending over a decade in the United States trading sugar.
After his return, his friend Chari Cruz-Zarate asked him to create a melody for her poem titled “Ang Tubig ay Buhay”, which she eventually used to sing at gatherings with her friends.
A few years later, the late Bella Dy Tan, the former head of Universal Records, asked Chan to record a Christmas album. The Filipino singer initially only wanted to compile his favorite Christmas songs for the album, but Tan wanted to include an original song.
That was when he remembered the melody he created for “Ang Tubig ay Buhay”.
Chan ten started adding his own words to the melody and even met with Rina Cañiza who contributed the first line of the hit song, which goes “Whenever I see girls and boys, selling lantern on the streets”.
Chan also tapped Broadway diva Lea Salonga to record the song with him but the latter’s record label did not allow her to do so. After Salonga, he asked theater actress Monique Wilson to do it.
Wilson agreed at first but she lost her voice on the day of the recording.
With no other singers in mind, Chan asked his then 19-year-old daughter Liza to learn the song and record it the following day.
The father and daughter did what they planned and the rest was history. “Christmas in Our Hearts” has become one of the most recognized songs in OPM history.
