Philippines: The Home Of Festivals

December 16, 2020

After writing my articleThe World's Longest Christmas Seasonsome readers were in awe knowing how the Philippines celebrated the Christmas season and its colorful festivals. So I decided to write this to show to @Our.journey and non-Filipino readers the major festivals of our country. For sure you will feel the rich culture and tradition of the Philippines while reading this article.

The Philippines is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia with 7,641 islands and categorized under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao. It has 17 regions and 146 cities consist of towns, each town consists of barangays, and each city, town, and barangay has its own festival. You read it right! The Philippines have so many festivals celebrated each year, and believe it or not, it has more than 42,000 major and minor festivals.

Festivals in the Philippines are an essential element of the local culture, known for their grand, vibrant and joyful celebrations. They are religion-based and marked vital historic events influenced by Spanish on Catholic spirituality. Regardless of people's origin, locals celebrate every festival and many even travel from far cities and provinces just to witness the major grand festivals of the country.

There are a lot of events, shows, programs, and contests organized by the city and local governments before up to the day of the festival. For the major festivals, what is worth witnessing are the colorful costumes, ethnic dances, grand parades, and most lavish processions. There are also a lot of food stalls, art exhibitions, road parties, and competitions that bring the locals together.

Here are my top festivals in the Philippines.

1. SINULOG FESTIVAL of CEBU CITY

Cebu City is the oldest city in the Philippines with its most popular festival that attracts tourists from all over the country. This is my most favorite festival too. I have mentioned the Sinulog festival in my latest article The World's Longest Christmas Season and it is held in honor of Santo Niño (Baby Jesus). During the Sinulog festival, you will see vibrant-colored dancers from different cities in the region parading through the city.

It is held every third Sunday of January of serves as the official closing of the Christmas celebration in the Philippines. Aside from the grand Sinulog Festival, Cebu City also has so many things to offer from cultural experiences to adventure activities.

2. ATI-ATIHAN FESTIVAL of KALIBO AKLAN

Another festival celebrated in the honor of Sto Niño is Ati-atihan. It's a two-week-long celebration that starts on the third Sunday of January. Different participants parading in the streets have colorful tribe costumes and their bodies are painted in black. Tourists can match up with them too and can mask themselves in black suits and dance with the street dancers too.

It is held on the same day as the Sinulog festival also known as 'Filipino Mardi Gras.' If you plan to visit Boracay, it is best to do it around the Ati-atihan festival because Kalibo is the closest town to the island of Boracay.

3. DINAGYANG FESTIVAL of ILOILO

Dinagyang is the last festival celebrated in the feast of Santo Nino (Child Jesus) which is held on the 4th Sunday of January a week after the Sinulog festival. It is a Hiligaynon word meaning 'merrymaking' and one of the religious festivals of the Philippines just like Sinulog and Ati-that. The main highlight of the festival is the 360° tribe competitions represented by the locals. Bright-colored dancers fill the streets with their traditional tribal costumes and there are foods all around which makes the locals buzzing with excitement.

That means there are three major festivals every January celebrated in the Philippines.

4. PANAGBENGA OR FLOWER FESTIVAL of BAGUIO CITY

This festival is one of my favorite because of its colorful celebration. It's a month-long festival held in the mountain town of Baguio City, the coldest place and the flower capital of the Philippines. During the festival, there are several huge floats decorated with lots of pretty and colorful flowers parading throughout the city.

Aside from the Panagbenga festival, there are a lot of things to do in Baguio City and other popular places to visit like Banaue rice terraces and Sagada. It is best to plan ahead if you want to visit Baguio City as it is the 'Tourist Capital' of the Philippines, so you will expect a lot of tourists from different places of the country.


5. MASSKARA FESTIVAL of BACOLOD CITY

Bacolod City is the 'City of Smiles' of the Philippines that is why it is in my top 5. Masskara festival is a fun-filled celebration where participants parading on the streets are wearing different masks of smiling faces that perfectly match up the city's name. Colorful street dancing, road parties, and smiling and enjoying people fill the streets during the Masskara festival.

6. GIANT LANTERN FESTIVAL of SAN FERNANDO

The Giant Lantern Festival is celebrated during the Christmas season where competitions for making the giant lanterns are held. San Fernando is the 'Lantern Capital' of the Philippines where the famous parols or Christmas lanterns are made and that is where the name of the festival came from.

During the festival, different colorful giant lanterns usually rise over 15 feet in diameter and made from locally available materials are displayed in a parade on Christmas Eve that lights up the whole street of San Fernando City. If you want to witness a bright and colorful festival during the Christmas season, you know now where to go.

7. PAHIYAS FESTIVAL of LUCBAN

Pahiyas Festival honors the patron saint of farmers, San Isidro de Labrador. It is celebrated during the harvest season that begins on the 15th day of May. Locals decorate their houses with different agricultural products produced by their town and mostly colorful Kipings (a traditional Filipino leaf-shaped wafer made from glutinous rice)

The most exciting part of the Pahiyas Festival is the FREE grab-all-you-can fresh fruits and vegetables for the visitors and tourists right from the walls.

8. KADAYAWAN FESTIVAL of DAVAO CITY

Kadayawan is derived from the word 'madayaw', a native expression of the Dabawnon tongue which means valuable, good, and superior. It is held on the third week of August as a thanksgiving festival and a tribute to its indigenous people.

The main highlights of the festival are Indak Indak sa Kadalanan Street Dancing, Kadayawan Floral Parade, and 'Parada sa Dagat' or water procession.

9. HIGANTES FESTIVAL of ANGONO RIZAL

Higantes Festival is held in the 'Art Capital' of the Philippines, Angono Rizal. It is celebrated every fourth week of November to honor the town’s patron saint, San Clemente.

The festival is based on the folklore 'higantes' (with literal meaning 'giants') a paper-mache giant did by the locals as a means of protest during the Spanish colonization. The main highlight of the festival is the parade of the paper-mache giants which is one of the most unique festivals in the Philippines and the water splashing activity is also held during this festival.

10. MUSIC FESTIVALS of MANILA

Music Festivals are actually on the rise in different places in the Philippines and most of them are held in the capital city of the country Manila. Some of them are:

• Road to Ultra

• Threadfest Manila

• Pulp Summer Slam

• Wanderland Music and Arts Festival

• Hydro Manila Music Festival

• Chroma

• Roots

• Bazooka Rocks and Playback
  

But if you don't want the buzzing music festivals in Manila as they are surely crowded, you can attend the fantastic Malasimbo Music Festival in Puerto Galera or Life dance in Cebu City.

These are just a few of the festivals in the Philippines and there are still thousands of them. You are bound to witness and experience the Philippines' rich culture, history, and patron saints during the festivals. They are grand, vibrant, and celebrated with many activities, shows, and competitions that visitors and tourists will surely enjoy.

And what's more fun attending these festivals are the free foods offered by the locals. Everyone, not just friends and families are welcome at home to enjoy and have a feast. And festivals are not only celebrated in one day but runs from a few weeks to a month. And these festivals are also one way to reunite Filipino families with friends, distant relatives, and with the locals.

Tourists from different places in the world visited the Philippines not only to witness its captivating beaches and breathtaking natural features but also to experience the country’s grand festivals and that makes it more fun to visit the Philippines! And it's not only the home of powerful voices and beauties but also THE HOME OF FESTIVALS!


Thanks for reading @Jane

Sources:

https://asiasomeday.com/philippine/en/festivals-in-the-philippines/#:~:text=Festivals%20in%20the%20Philippines%20are,festivals%20celebrated%20across%20the%20country.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.zenrooms.com/blog/post/festivals-in-the-philippines/amp/