Published on December 15, 1950, in Dumaguete City, this document is the third issue of the first volume of The Midget Sillimanian, a school newspaper specifically created for the elementary students of Silliman University. Serving as a junior counterpart to the high school's Junior Sillimanian and the university's main publication, the Sillimanian, this student-led paper was established to help young learners improve their English proficiency and penmanship. Copies were sold for 5 centavos each to raise funds for painting the elementary school classrooms. This specific holiday issue offers a vibrant, firsthand glimpse into postwar campus life and local culture in the Philippines during the mid-20th century. It features Christmas messages from the school principal and University President Felix G. Gaudiel, alongside student-written essays, poems, classroom decoration updates, reports on Girl Scout rallies, and local folklore adaptation. The text captures a unique blend of American institutional influences (such as references to Santa Claus and the Saturday Evening Post) intertwined with traditional Filipino elements, such as holiday suman (rice cakes) and student agriculture projects growing pechay and mustard. It stands as a significant historical artifact of Silliman University's foundational commitment to holistic, student-led early education.
The Midget Sillimanian, Vol. I, No. 3