There are many festivities in the Philippines that are celebrated to honor the Santo Niño or the child Jesus. The Sto. Niño is a representation of the Child Jesus which literally means “holy child.” Filipinos, being largely Roman Catholics, venerate and are faithful devotees of the Sto. Niño. Most of the festivities were celebrated in the month of January.
When did it start?
The devotion to the Sto. Niño is a mark left by the Spaniards when they assumed power over the Philippines. Ferdinand MAgellan's arrival in Cebu shores gave birth to what is now an active religious tradition in the Philippines – a wooden image of the Sto. Niño (the oldest religious image in the Philippines that was brought by the Spaniards) was given as a gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Rajah Humabon – the two with their people were later baptized into the Catholic faith.
The celebration of the feast of the Sto. Niño was approved by the Holy See. Special liturgical texts are used during local feasts. The official celebration is set on the third Sunday of January, where in various provinces has their colorful and grandeur fiestas in offering. Cebuanos boast of their Sinulog FestivaL, while the Ilonggos host the colorful Dinagyang Festival. The Aklanons celebrate their spectacle, known to be the wildest and grandest of all Philippine festivals – the Ati-Atihan Festival, while the Manileños honor the Sto. Niño de Tondo with a fluvial procession to celebrate the Sto. Niño de Tondo Festival.
Sinulog Festival
Among all the festivities honoring the Holy Child, Sinulog Festival was one of the most awaited by the Filipinos. Even foreigners wait for the celebration of the Sto. Niño de Cebu.
The Sinulog festival is one of the grandest and most colorful festivals in the Philippines with a very rich history. The main festival is held each year on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City to honor the Santo Niño, or the child Jesus, who used to be the patron saint of the whole province of Cebu (since in the Catholic faith Jesus is not a saint, but God). It is essentially a dance ritual which remembers the Filipino people’s pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity.
The festival features some the country’s most colorful displays of pomp and pageantry: participants garbed in bright-colored costumes dance to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. The streets are usually lined with vendors and pedestrians all wanting to witness the street-dancing. Smaller versions of the festival are also held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño. There is also a Sinulog sa Kabataan, which is performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the Grand Parade.
Aside from the colorful and festive dancing, there is also the SME trade fair where Sinulog features Cebu export quality products and people around the world flock on the treasures that are Cebu.
Recently, the cultural event has been commercialized as a tourist attraction and instead of traditional street-dancing from locals, Sinulog also came to mean a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the country. The Sinulog Contest is traditionally held in the Cebu City Sports Complex, where most of Cebu’s major provincial events are held.
