|
Date
|
Name of Holiday / Feast
|
Description
|
| July |
|
|
| 4th |
Filipino-American Friendship Day |
Historical ties and pledges of friendship
are made at the US Embassy, wreath laying ceremonies take place,
and in Rizal Park there is an evening concert. |
| 29th |
Pateros River Fiesta |
In the duck-breeding suburb of Pateros,
a curious festival is held in which the hunting and killing
of a crocodile that had threatened the livelihood of the farmers
here is re-enacted. |
| August |
|
|
| |
Kadayawan sa Dabaw |
A two week-long Orchid Festival
held in Davao, on Mindanao. There is also a Food and Drink Festival
and a Tribal Festival. |
| 26th |
Cry of Balitawak |
A number of festivities take place
on the actual spot where Bonifacio made his historic call for
armed struggle against the Spanish. |
| September |
|
|
| Third Weekend |
Penafrancia Festival |
The beauty of this river festival,
culminating in a graceful boat parade on the Naga River, attracts
many tourists. |
| 29th |
Ang Sinulog |
A major week-long festival held
in Iligan City |
| October |
|
|
| 10 - 12th |
Zamboanga Hermosa |
Dedicated to the patron saint of
the city. Nuestra Senora del Pilar, this festival includes many
religious ceremonies, cultural presentations, and the electing
of Miss Zamboanga. |
| Second Sunday |
La Naval de Manila |
An evening candle-lit procession
from St. Domingo Church honors Our Lady of the Holy Rosary,
whose intercession is credited with being the cause of a number
of naval victories over the Dutch in 1646. |
| 19th |
Masskara Festival |
Smiling masks are the symbols of
this festival, the biggest on Negros. The festival lasts for
one week, climaxing in a colorful street parade. |
| November |
|
|
| 1st |
All Saint's Day
|
A national holiday
to commemorate the dead. Families gather at cemeteries and often
stay overnight, keeping impressive candle-lit vigil over their
lost ones. The Chinese, who have a special reverence for their
ancestors, turn out in droves for this remembrance event. The
Chinese Cemetery in Manila is an interesting place to visit
at this time. |
| 23th |
Feast of San Clemente
|
San Clemente is
the patron saint of fishermen. The grateful community of Angono
in Rizal Province turn out to offer thanks and take part in
a boat parade. |
| 30th |
Bonifacio Day
|
Also called National
Heroes' Day, ceremonies take place all over the country to honor
the birthday of the revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio. |
| November/ December |
Grand Canao |
This festival
is a celebration of the cultures of the ethnic minorities of
Baguio in northern Luzon. There are opportunities to see tribal
rituals and dances and to observe animal sacrifices. |
| December |
|
|
| 8th |
Feast of Our Lady
of the Immaculate Conception |
Held in may cities
throughout the Philippines. The boat procession held at night
on Malabon River and Manila Bay is particularly worth seeing.
|
| 16 - 24th |
Simbang Gabi |
The official start
of Christmas in the Philippines with many people attending simbang
gabi (night masses). |
| 24th |
Giant Lantern
Festival |
A charming lantern
parade and contest held in San Fernando, Pampanga Province.
The winning lantern is displayed after midnight mass. |
| 25th |
Christmas (Pasko) |
A family day,
much the same as it is in other Christian countries, a movable
feast of food and drink and merriment. Children go from one
relative to another receiving blessings and gifts. |
| 28th |
Holy Innocents'
Day |
Just the same
as April Fools' Day in the West. Filipinos enjoy playing practical
jokes on the unsuspecting. |
| 30th |
Rizal Day |
Annual commemoration
of the day on which the Filipino national hero, Jose Rizal,
was executed by the Spanish. |
| 31st |
New Year's Eve
|
All the usual
party going, food, drink and bombast associated with these last
hours of the year. At the Binalbal Festival of Tudela in Misamis
Occidental, people dressed up as witches and ghosts take to
the streets in a parade designed to banish evil spirits. |
| January |
|
|
| 1st |
New Year's Day |
Family gatherings
to celebrate media noche (a traditional midnight repast), loud
explosions of fireworks, and midnight mass for the more devout. |
| First Sunday |
Three Kings' Day
|
The Feast of Epiphany
which marks the end of Christmas. Children receive gifts and
star-shaped lanterns are hung in doorways and windows to symbolise
the guiding star of the story. Santa Cruz and Gasan on Marinduque
have special parades on this day. |
| 9th |
Feast of the Black
Nazarene |
A lifesize image
of Christ is dragged through the streets of Quiapo in Manila
by a barefoot penitent. The procession culminates with a mass
at Quiapo Church. The event is attended by ain excess of 100,000
people, many of whom try, in an act of ritual cleansing, to
touch the image with a handkerchief or piece of cloth |
| Third Weekend |
Ati-Atihan |
Held in Kalibo
on Panay Island, this festival is one of the largest and most
exuberant fanfares of colour, musoc dance, costume and masks
found anywhere in the islands. Often compared to the carnival
in Rio de Janeiro, the Ati-atihan combines the atmosphere and
energy of a Mardi Gras with the stunning visuals of an Italian
carnivale. Try to book a room from Manila before turning up
|
| Third Weekend |
Feast of Saint
Nino |
Tondo (Manila)
and Cebu are good place to be for this event, which marks the
feast of the Holy Infant. This also denotes the end of the week-long
Pasundayag sa Sinulog, a festival that is also celebrated in
Kabankalan on Negros. Families take small Santo Nino statuettes
to their churches to be blessed, and there are performances
of the sululog dance. |
| Fourth Weekend
|
The Ibayay Ati-Atihan
|
A second Ati-Atihan
festival takes place 30 kilometers northwest of Kalibo on the
weekend after the main event. The festival here is simpler and,
perhaps, more authentic than the Kalibo version. |
| January/February
|
Chinese New Year
|
Chinatown in Manila
is the place to be to catch the firecrackers and dragon dances
that announce the Chinese New Year celebrations. These can take
place any time between 21 January and 19 February, depending
upon the ebb and flow of the lunar calendar. |
| February |
|
|
| 2nd |
Feast of Our Lady
of Candelaria |
A festival that
honors the patron saint of Jaro, a suburb in the city of Iloilo.
It is said to be the largest religious festival held in the
western Visayas. |
| 11th |
Feast of Our Lady
of Lourdes |
Held in Kanlaon
Street, Quezon City, this feast, which also takes place in San
Juan del Monte in Bulacan Province, celebrates the appearance
of the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France. |
| 14th |
St Valentines'
Day |
The romantic Filipinos
set much stock by this day. Presents and cards are sent, and
restaurants, discos and cinemas enjoy a brisk business. |
| 22 - 25th |
People Power Days
|
Nobody, quite
rightly, wishes to forget those memorable few days which brought
down the Marcos administration and saw the restoration of democracy.
The 25th is an official holiday. |
| 26th |
Dia de Zamboanga
|
This is a celebration
of Muslim and Christian culture accompanied by religious rituals,
regattas and cultural displays. |
| March/April |
|
|
| Holy Week |
Moriones Festival
|
Easter time sees
the performance of many passion plays throughout the Philippines.
The most renowned is the Moriones Festival of Marinduque. Many
ceremonies and rituals lead up to the main event which begins
on Good Friday and climaxes on Easter Sunday, when a one-eyed
Longinus chased, and finally beheaded, by masked centurions.
|
| April 9th |
Bataan Day |
This is a day
of remembrance for the battle which led to the fall of Bataan
in 1942, the capture of many soldiers by the Japanese and the
infamous Death March. Ceremonies are held at the Mount Samat
Shrine in Bataan and at Capas in Tarlac. |
| April 14 - 15th |
Lami-Lamihan Festival
|
An interesting
local festival held in Basilan in which local cultural minorities,
dressed in their best costumes, join in parades, dances and
horse races. |
| April 27th |
Bahug-Bahugan
sa Mactan |
A beach on Mactan
Island is the annual scene of the landing and death of Magellan.
Mock battles are fought early in the morning (usually between
8 am and 10 am) in the shallow sea where the helpless navigator
met his end. |
| April (May or
June) |
Turrumba Festival
|
An image of Our
Lady of Sorrows of Turrumba was found floating in Laguna Lake
in 1778, and ever since then a festival has been held in honor
of this talismatic figure believed to possess mysterious healing
powers. |
| May |
|
|
| 1 - 30th |
Santacruzan |
Celebrated all
over the islands. A novena precedes this pageant in which the
prettiest girls from each village are assigned biblical roes
and paraded under floral arches in flower tiaras and ternos,
traditional butterfly-sleeved dresses. Floral floats, brass
bands and candle-lit parades are held in some towns and cities.
|
| 3rd |
Carabao Carroza
|
Pavia, a town
to the north of Iloilo City in Panay, plays host to a number
of water buffalo races in which 18 different districts, or barrios,
compete with each other. A fiesta takes place the next day.
|
| 6th |
Araw ng Kagitingan
|
This day pays
tribute to Filipinos who have shown exceptional courage in the
service of the country. |
| 14 - 15th |
Carabao Festival
|
This festival
is held to honor San Isidro, patron saint of farmers. Water
buffaloes are led to the local church square where they are
ritually blessed. Water buffalo races are held on the following
day. The main venues for this festival are San Isidro (Nueva
Ecija Province). Pulilan (Bulacan Province) and Angono (Rizal
Province). |
| June |
|
|
| 12th |
Independence Day |
Church bells ring
early in the morning in thanksgiving for the founding of the
First Philippine Republic in 1898. There are huge military parades,
concerts, speeches and fireworks. |
| 19th |
Birthday of Dr.
Jose Rizal |
Holiday and tribute
to the Philippines' foremost national hero. |
| 22 - 25th |
Halaran Festival
|
Roxas City's version
of the Ati-Atihan festival. |
| 24th |
Feast of San Juan
Bautista |
A re-enactment
of the life and deeds of St. John the baptist. Like the Songkran
Festival in Thailand, water is liberally thrown not only over
the devout, but over anyone else who happens to be passing by.
|
| 28 - 30th |
Feast of the Saint
Peter and Paul |
The people of
Apalit in Pampanga hold host parades over these days. |
