The 10 Most Popular Festivals in the Philippines

By : Melo Villareal / March 13, 2014

Festivals are incredible in the Philippines and this is one of the reasons why Its More
Fun to visit every single island. Often including elaborate costumes, parades and processions,
and demonstrating the integration of historical traditions from the indigenous as well as Spanish
and Mexican influences that characterize modern Philippines.

This is a quick summary of the 10 most popular festivals in the Philippines, but nothing
compares to finding out more and going to take part in one yourself.

Feast of Black Nazarine

The procession of Black Nazarene in Manila .Considered as the largest annual religious
procession in the Philippines, the Feast of Black Nazarine celebrates an over 200 year old statue
of a black Christ figure, said to bring good luck to those who participate or come to pay honor.
The procession of barefoot men and women takes place in Quaipo, Manila on January 9th and
Good Friday.

Sinulog Festival

Every third Sunday of January, Cebu City celebrates Santo Nio with Sinulog Festival.
During the highlight of the festival, the streets are filled with energetic street dancers performing
the traditional Sinulog dance wearing an intricate and colorful costumes.

Kadayawan Festival

Kadayawan takes place in Davao and is a celebrated during the month of August with
various events including ethnic dance demonstrations and competitions as well as a trade fair and
exhibit. Its a harvest celebration and is one of the most cheerful festivals in the Philippines.

Pahiyas Festival

On May 15 every year, Lucban in Quezon celebrates Pahiyas Festival in honor of San
Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers. Fresh fruits and vegetables are set out on houses and
buildings as decorations. The decorations are judged and the best is given awards and prizes.

Ati-Atihan Festival

Another January festival, Ati-Atihan is the annual tribute to the baby Jesus in Kalibo,
Aklan. A celebratory display of costumes, weapons, music, and dance is meant to celebrate the
Santo Nio. The festival has inspired many other Philippine Festivals including the Sinulog
Festival of Cebu and Dinagyang of Iloilo, both adaptations of the Kalibo Ati-Atihan Festival.

Dinagyang Festival

On the fourth Sunday every January in Iloilo City, Dinagyang Festival is another
celebration of Jesus that includes a huge feast and a mascot called Dagoy who represents the
traditional Aeta people of the islands. The Dinagyang is divided into three Major events: Ati-Ati
Street Dancing, Kasadyahan Street Dancing and Miss Dinagyang.

Masskara Festival

Incredible costumes and days of celebrations are typical of Masskara festival in Bacolod
City. Its a giant masquerade party and one of the most fun and most widely known festivals of
the Philippines. Its held in the third week of October, on or around Oct 19th. The festival
features a street dance competition where people from all walks of life troop to the streets to see
colorfully masked dancers gyrating to the rhythm of Latin musical beats in a display of mastery,
gaiety, coordination and stamina.

Major activities include the MassKara Queen beauty pageant, carnivals, drum and bugle
corps competitions, food festivals, sports events, musical concerts, agriculture-trade fairs, garden
shows, and other special events organized ad-hoc every year.

Panagbenga Festival

Also known as the Flower Festival, this beautiful and celebratory event embodies many
of the best things about the Philippines. Celebrating people dressed in beautiful, colorful,
elaborate flower themed costumes. Baguio City turns into one big party during February each
year for Panagbenga Festival.

Moriones Festival

Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday is celebrated in Marinduque with intricate

Roman soldier costumes called Moriones. The wearers are both celebrated and a symbol of the
self-cleansing of this time of year. They play tricks and cause trouble and their real identities are
unknown. A huge search for Longino is undertaken on Easter Sunday and is sacrificed after
being caught a third time. The drama is is engaging and the crowd is involved, making this one
of the most unique festivals in the country.

Higantes Festival

In Angono in Rizal, the Higantes Festival is another incredible example of the devotion
and dedication that Filipinos put into their festivals. The Higantes, or giants, are huge paper
mache people that can be as tall as 12 feet high and about five feet in diameter. Its held on
November 23rd and celebrates the patron saint of fishermen, San Clemente.

These are the 10 Most Popular Festivals in the Philippines. But there are more that you
can learn about and attend if you want to experience the fun and drama of festivals in the
Philippines.

Filipino Wedding Traditions and Customs

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Traditionally the grooms family pays for the wedding and the grandparents act as the
primary witnesses or sponsors. The brides gown is often custom made and both the bride and
groom wear white. It is bad luck for the bride to try on her dress before the wedding day and to
wear pearl jewelry, which is considered a bad omen. The groom wears a sheer, long-sleeve
button-up shirt (barong tagalog) that is worn un-tucked over black pants with a white t-shirt
underneath.

As in Spanish weddings, the groom presents his bride with 13 gold pieces as a pledge of
his dedication to his wife and the welfare of his children. These are carried in by a coin bearer
who walks with the ring bearer. A white cord is draped around the couples shoulders as a bond
of infinite marriage and veils of white tulle are draped on the brides head and grooms shoulders
to symbolize two people clothed as one.

Another tradition that symbolizes the unity of the couple is the lighting of a unity candle
by two separate candles held by the bride and groom to represent the joining of the two families
and invoke the light of Christ. The bouquet is not tossed and rather offered to a favorite saint, the
virgin, or on the grave of a loved one.

Knives and other sharp objects are not considered good gifts because they will lead to a
broken marriage. Raindrops are lucky because they bring prosperity and happiness, and when the
rice is tossed at the newlyweds it represents the rain. The groom should always arrive before the
bride; otherwise it will be bad luck.

Philippines Unique Cuisines/Dishes

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Filipinos are big eaters, even though it is not obviously seen in their petite bodies. The
Philippines is known as Asia's melting pot because of the uniqueness and variety of their food.
Filipinos can't go a day without including rice in their meals. They love plain rice matched with
salted fish, chicken and meat. They serve rice first followed by the various viands they have
grown to eat and cook. Filipinos have a very regular eating schedule: morning, mid-morning,
lunch, afternoon (merienda) and dinner.

They enjoy a variety of sweet foods adopted from other countries which encouraged them
to make their own desserts like "mahablanca" a dessert made of coconut milk, corn, sugar, or
"puto" and "palitaw" which are also made of coconut milk. They also enjoy eating "halo-halo"
for their afternoon snack which means "mixture," a popular dessert that consists of layers of
cornflakes, ice cream, small pieces of gelatin, milk and shaved ice.

During special occasions like a town's big event in celebration of their saint's feast, a
favorite food called "lechon," a suckling pig that has been roasted until the skin turns crusty is
served. Some street foods are also common in the country like the famous "balut," a boiled duck
egg with an embryo, and fish and squid balls on a stick that are dipped on spicy and sweet
sauces.