Pinoy Fiesta Season

January kicks off year-round fiestas and festivals in the Philippines - when folks from all over, take to the streets in festive celebration, dancing to the beat of wild drumming and sharp staccato whistle blasts. 

Visiting the Philippines this time of the year has several advantages. The weather is ideal for sightseeing and island hopping. Amihan, the northeast monsoon blows through the islands - bringing cooling breezes and bright sunny days. Cresting in the wake of a notoriously long holiday season - the merry making continues on as the new festival season unfolds. 

Image provided by The Augustinian Province of Santo Niño de Cebu
Philippines Provincialate Offices

At the center of most January festivities is the Santo Niño, the image of the Child Jesus - venerated by many folks the world over and popularly celebrated all over the Philippines. Grand processions with hundreds of opulently dressed images of the Christ child are paraded in the streets amid frenzied crowds of locals and visitors dancing along with the performing groups. 

Major fiestas in the same time frame include: 

1. The Ati-Atihan festival in Kalibo, Aklan which honors Santo Niño with costumes, face painting, and dancing in the streets. It commemorates when the local Ati tribe helped settlers in the 13th century. 
2. The Sinulog festival in Cebu City on its 500th anniversary, commemorates native Queen Juana's dance of joy upon receiving an image of the Christ child from Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. 
3. The Sinulog de Kabankalan in this Negros Occidental city - now on its 50th year, is a living expression of faith, rooted in devotion to the Señor Santo Niño. 
4. The Dinagyang festival in Iloilo is from the Hiligaynon word dagyang, meaning "merrymaking." It celebrates the feast of the Christ child and the pact between Datus and local tribes.   

As Nick Joaquin writes, the tiny image has another, more special meaning for “us Filipinos, because it marks our beginning, the start of our history as One Nation.” We go back to the evangelization of the Philippines in 1521 - with the Spanish expedition led by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. 

He brought with him the image of Santo Niño, which he granted, as a gift, to the Queen of Cebu - thus the Catholic faith in the Philippines began with the folk devotion to the Christ child. Did you know, there is an older animist devotion to a similar local deity, referred to as Santonilyo Agipo? 

These sculpted idols were called different names throughout the Philippines such as tao-tao (little human), bata-bata (little child), larawan (image), or likha (creation), among them. These images are usually androgynous and roughhewn or natural found forms. 

There's even a pre-colonial legend of a native fisherman who went out to sea. He could not catch any fish all day long. Finally, he felt a weight in his net. He hauled it in, only to discover that it was nothing but a piece of agipo (driftwood). 

Cursing, he threw it back into the sea.  Soon after, he felt another tug in his line but, again when he brought it in, it was the same piece of wood. Over and over he would catch the agipo and then dump it back into the sea only to catch it in his net again.  

Finally tired and angry, he decided to keep the driftwood in his boat. Then just like magic, all the fish in the sea flocked towards his boat and he returned to his village with a bountiful catch. 

The natives of Cebu soon discovered that this piece of wood had other magical powers. They could use it as a scarecrow to keep the birds and animals away from drying grains. In times of drought, they only had to immerse it in the sea and the rains would come. 

In time this agipo became an idol in their pantheon of idols, a god of graces. Today the Santonilyo has been eclipsed by the more widely known Señor Santo Niño. 

The miraculous image of the Señor Santo Niño de Cebu is famously worshipped in the Philippines. This wooden image shows the Christ Child with a darker complexion, wearing a crown, carrying a globe surmounted by a cross on the left hand, and a gold scepter fastened to the right hand raised in blessing. 

This incarnated idol comes fully decked out in an extensive wardrobe of costly vestments which include gilded gloves and boots - all donated by wealthy devotees. 

In however you choose to express or practice your devotion - this is the optimum time for all these celebrations and traditions. 

Enjoy! Viva, Pit Señor! Hala bira!