Festivals And Fiestas
People in the Philippines love to celebrate festivals or are fiesta-loving people. Each city and barrio has at least one local festival of its own, usually on the feast of its patron saint. So all year round somewhere in the Philippines, people are celebrating something. But the biggest and most elaborate festival of all is Christmas, it is an extremely important and revered holiday for most Filipinos. It is a time for family, for sharing, for giving, and a time for food, fun, and friendship.
The Ati-Atihan is a festival in honour of the Santo Niño. It commemorates the 13th century land deal between 10 migrating Bornean chieftains and the aboriginal Ati King Marikudo. A colorful happening with celebrants who paint their faces in many different ways and who are dressed in the most exceptional costumes. The fiesta is celebrated in Kalibo on the island of Panay (Visayas).
The Ati-Atihan celebration is echoed in many parts of the country.
The main feature is the Bonok-bonok, an ethnic Mamanua (IPES) dance performed by the natives during thanks giving, worship and wedding ceremonies. Behind Surigao's multi-faceted culture is its original tribal background. The Surigaonons go back to their roots this month as they celebrate their heritage with a loud, rowdy street dancing parade. Silop Cave in the mainland are cathedral-like caverns glowing with luminescent spires of stalactites and stalagmites.
The San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites is a Holy Week re-enactment of Christ’s Passion and Death, complete with a passion play, culminating with the actual nailing of at least three flagellants to a wooden cross atop the makeshift Calvary. Prayer of a different meaning during the Lenten season, when villagers of San Pedro, Cutud, engage in the act of self-flagellation. This ancient ritual is performed in the morning of Good Friday during the Holy Week. Backs, arms, and legs are cut and then struck with burillo whips.
Iloilo City's biggest and most colorful religion and cultural festivity. The Dinagyang Festival is celebrated every fourth weekend of January to commemorate the Christianization of the natives and to honor the Holy Child Jesus. There is also a phenomenal procession of dancers who whip themselves up into a frenzy of stomping and drum-beating. Incredible costumes, heat, colours and chanting continue night and day. It's a rare spectacle and justly as famous as the incredible Ati-Atihan.
The Flowers of May festival is another month-long celebration. In this celebration, the Blessed Virgin is the focus of devotion. Every afternoon in May, young people go to church to pray the rosary and offer flowers and songs to the Blessed Mother. The highlight of the celebration, is the Santa Cruzan, the procession on the last day of the festival in honour of Reyna Helena.
It all began in 1974. It was the fiesta of Malaybalay, May 15, in honor of San Isidro Labrador. A cultural festival that presents the rich customs and traditions of the 7 ethnic hill tribes of Bukidnon. It features a program highlighting the historic beginnings of Bukidnon, a trade fair, garden show, food fest, agri-fair, rodeo & horse show, street dancing contest, and rituals showcasing tribal Bukidnon culture. An early morning traditional Bukidnon ritual called Panalawahig will be officiated by datus (tribal leaders) at the Kaamulan grounds. “Kaamulan” is an indigenous Bukidnon term for gathering.
Kinabayo Festival which is celebrated every July 25 in Dapitan City Zamboanga del Norte is an exotic and colorful pageant re-enacting the Spanish-Moorish wars, particularly the Battle of Covadonga where the Spanish forces under General Pelagio took their last stand against Saracan. They were able to reverse the tide through the miraculous apparition of St. James. The addition of local color and innovations make this annual revelry a popular attraction drawing crowds to the city.
Kadayawan Festival is being celebrated every 3rd Week of August. It is a celebration of Good Harvest and is a week long celebration. This globally famous festival is a thanksgiving for nature’s bountiful harvest. The climax of the event is when the Kadayawan parade is held, featuring colorful, orchid-bedecked floats and more than a dozen "ethnic" groups dancing to the beat of wooden drums.
One of the most colorful festivals celebrated in the Philippines is the Moriones Festival. The island of Marinduque prides itself in being the "Lenten Capital of the Philippines". Morion means "mask" or "visor," a part of the medieval Roman armor which covers the face. Moriones, on the other hand, refers to the masked and costumed penitents who march around the town for seven days searching for Longinus, the centurion who pierced Jesus' side - and his subsequent beheading.
Mudpack Festival held every third weekend of June wherein people from all walks of life converge in Mambucal Mountain Resort in Brgy. Minoyan, to commit themselves for the protection and conservation of the environment. It is a symbolic celebration of man’s return to primitive times when he was closer to nature. It aims to instill in people the awareness and care of environment and the use of natural materials in arts and craft. The highlight of this festival is a merry-making with dancers' faces covered with mudpack and bodies painted with Mambukal clay.
Bacolod City known as the “City of Smiles”. The symbol of the festival - a smiling mask - was adopted by the organizers to dramatize the Negrenses happy spirit, despite periodic economic downturns in the sugar industry. The carnival spirit fills the air as masked participants donning fabulous costumes dance there way around the city's main thoroughfares. This annual event reflects Bacolenos' love for fun and gaiety. Three days of streetdancing under the heat of the sun brought out the party-animal instinct in all of us.
The flower season in the city of Pines - perfect timing for an all-out fiesta in the streets. Bands play the Festival hymn as floats fashioned with flowers glide down the parade route. Moreover, Flowerscape in various guises showcases flowers which blend colors and shapes with nature's perfumes. The Baguio folk enjoy the cool climate and the unique culture of the city. Multi-hued costumes are worn, mimicking the various blooms of the highland region.
Pahiyas is the time when people in Lucban, Quezon give thanks to San Isidro Labrador for a bountiful harvest. Pahiyas means "decor". Houses along the old streets of Lucban are artistically decorated with agricultural harvest and are elaborately decorated with brightly colored rice wafer, called kiping, a type of rice dough made from a traditional recipe. When the festival is over, these kiping are cooked and eaten as rice chips. Fruits, grain, vegetables, and woven palm hats are used as decorations. In the Afternoon, San Isidro Labrador's image is carried accross town in a procession to assure farmers of more bountiful harvests in forthcoming seasons.
Pineapple is the fruit of choice for the people of Daet, Camarines Norte. They loved it so much that they made a festival in its honor. Join the locals as they celebrate the Pineapple Festival featuring a colorful street presentation complemented by art exhibits, trade fair, cultural dances, and sport events. Feel rich when you go for a visit at Paracale Gold Mines, and be acquainted with some Bicol heroes like Vinzon and Panganiban and Lucban.
The Parada ng Lechon, occurs annually on June 24 in Batangas, Philippines. This festival celebrates the sainthood of John the Baptist and is celebrated by a parade of golden-red and crispy roasted pigs, or in tagalog with a Parada ng lechon. The villagers of this province drench the parade in water, to signify the baptism of Jesus and after the parade a large parade is held, where the roasted pigs that were paraded through town are consumed. This Festival serves as a religious and spiritual purifying rite to the people of Batangas.
The feast day is headed by a novena, nine days of prayer, in honor of the Virgin. On the first day, the image of the Virgin, a copy of the Madonna in Peñafrancia, Spain, is brought from its shrine to the Naga Cathedral where the novena is held. On the last day, the image is returned to her shrine following the Naga River route. The colorful evening procession is lit by thousands of candles from followers in boats escorting the image. When the flatboat reaches its destination, the devotees shout "Viva la Virgen" (Long live the Virgin!) and the image is carried back in a procession to the cathedral.
Sinulog in cebu city is a nine-day celebration in honor of Sto. Nino. It entails two major activities: the religious procession on a Saturday and the grand street parade the following day. Sinulog has been one of the favorites of tourists in cebu. Characterized by its peculiar two-steps-forward-and-one-step-backward shuffle, thus simulating the Holy Child of the shores, the Sinulog is a century-old tradition observed in the part of Visayas region. The prayer-dance is synchronized to the beat of drums and shouts of "Pit Señor! Viva Sto. Niño!" Feel free to dance with the best of them, grooving all the way to the grand final presentation at the Cebu City Sports Center.
The Sandugo Festival is a yearly event that takes place in the island province of Bohol. This festival honors the celebration of a local Philippine leader Datu Sikatuna's blood compact and association or treaty of friendship with the Spanish king conquistador, Captain General Miguel López de Legazpi in March 16, 1565. This historic event is remembered today with an all-out fiesta at the island's capital city. This special event involves colorful costumes and loud drum beats, street parades, church services, fireworks, beauty pageants (Miss Bohol and Miss Tagbilaran), cockfighting tournaments and sport tournaments.
The main highlights of the Sandugo Festival is a street parade with a street dancing competition, a re-enactment of the first sandugo or blood compact, and the Search for Miss Bohol Sandugo.
The Pintados festival recalls Pre-Spanish history of the native Leytenos from wars, epics and folk religions. The most expected aspect of the Pintados festival are the festive dancers, as they paint themselves out in body paint, mimicking the warriors of old while dancing to the frenetic beat of drums. The custom of tattooing earned for the Leyteños the name of Pintados.
The biggest festival in the region is the La Hermosa Festival or popurlay known as Fiesta Pilar. This festival is celebrated in dedication to the miraculous image of Our Lady of the Pilar at the legendary Fort Pilar. The festival is marked with week-long novena masses, cultural shows, agricultural fairs, art/photo/flower garden exhibits, a two-day mardi gras parade, the bandoreal (street dancing), a regatta (Zamboanga Sea Festival), torch parades, fireworks display and from 1 to 12 October. It all ends with a solemn procession and a mass at the Fort.
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