I have always wanted to have a family crest. This is probably an influence from my past European travels.
After we built our current residence, I asked an artist to design a crest that I could place at the gate. Walang nangyari. Hindi nya alam gawin. I was too busy I wasn’t able to focus on developing the concept. After a few years, I contacted a family crest designer from the US. They sent me some samples which I liked but for some reason, I failed to pursue it.
A few months before the annual Tan family reunion last year, I suggested to my sister that we make a Tan Family Crest. We were both busy so it didn’t materialize.
We are having our reunion again in May and again, it reminded me of our crest. We’re lucky to have Junjun, my eldest nephew, who’s an extremely talented artist. I messaged him about it and in just a few days he came up with an initial design. We were all in awe at how accurate and creative he was in putting the symbols all together. Symbols that represented our roots. A few more suggestions and minor tweaking, he came up with the final design of our official Tan Family Crest.
(from my nephew Dr. Ric Tan III)
This represents many aspects of our Tan family heritage and qualities we value. The Philippine national symbols of the carabao and eagle echo the motto of industriousness (sipag) and determination (tiyaga), respectively, and the feather carries the weight of the farming heritage (duck raising, poultry, piggery), plus symbols of peace and trust (tapat). The two chevrons symbolize homes in PI and US, and the sampaguita flowers stand for joy, also a national symbol, the 7-pointed star for the seven siblings of the birth of this coat of arms, the heart is on the keystone that also represents the top of a cross, symbolizing love and compassion, and of course, the TAN and the “T” take prominent positions in heraldic shields. Not to mention, there is visual symmetry of black and white spaces, and angles throughout.
We are proud of what our family has accomplished. We do not have perfect lives. We all have our respective trials and challenges but overall, with God’s blessings, we are O K A Y. I am sure my parents are smiling in heaven. Ang kanilang pagsisikap at simpleng pangarap para sa kanilang mga anak ay hindi nauwi sa wala.
Thank you Junjun.
Wow! Nice symbolism of the family crest! Sipag can be Talino to be consistent with the start of letter T. hehehe
Thank you for your suggestion. The word Sipag symbolizes my parents’ main traits.
It will inspire the future generations to work-hard too. Talino is more of God-given and to claim it can be pretentious.
Yes mam, I agree. What I also love is that Tan is surely Chinese but the carabao, the eagle and the sampaguita are all national symbols of the Philippines. So talented your nephew, Dr. Tan!
He is extremely talented. He wears many hats. He and his wife heads Tan Family Weddings and Events and they officiate weddings. Aside from being Dr. Tan, he is also Reverend Tan. They decorate and manage venues, etc. He composes music and plays all kinds of musical instruments. He is a school teacher teaching not just academics but also arts, crafts, and just about everything. To top it all, he is a very dedicated dad and husband, and an extremely kind and loving person. I will never run out of adjectives to describe him.