Devotees of the Santo Nino from different parts of the country celebrate the Feast of the Child Jesus today, which is traditionally marked with festive rites and grand processions.
In Metro Manila, 33 fiesta masses, which started at 3 p.m. yesterday until 11 p.m. today, will be celebrated at the Santo Niño de Tondo Parish in Manila, the center of celebrations in the metropolis.
The “Lakbayaw” Festival was held yesterday at 8 a.m. while the grand procession will be held at 4 a.m. today.
In Pandacan, Manila, the “Buling-Buling” Festival in honor of the Santo Niño will be marked by masses at 5 a.m., 6 a.m., and by the hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Santo Niño Parish. Two masses will be celebrated at 7 a.m. – at the church and at the plaza which is called the Ati-Atihan mass. The grand procession will be held at 7 tonight.
In Cebu City, the widely popular “Sinulog” in honor of Senor Santo Niño, the oldest festival in the archipelago, is expected to gather around one million devotees of the Holy Child. Cebuanos do not consider the Christmas season over until after the celebration of the festive Sinulog Festival, which attracts local and foreign tourists.
The heart of the Sinulog is the locals’ centuries-old devotion to the Holy Child, whose miraculous image is greeted with cries of “Viva Senor Santo Niño!”, “Hail to the Child King!”, and “Pit Senor!” from the phrase “Sangpit sa Senyor” (Call to Senor).
The Cebuanos’ devotion to the Child Jesus has deep historical roots. The image of the Holy Child was brought to the country by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan on April 14, 1521 as agift to Queen Juana of Cebu, who was reportedly moved to tearsafter she saw the 15-inch tall wooden statue of the Santo Nino. She allowed herself to be baptized as a Christian, along with her husband Rajah Humabon and more than 800 natives. After Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan, not much was heard about the image, except that the Cebuanos worshipped the Santo Nino as a rain god.
In 1565, when Spanish conqueror Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu, a Spanish soldier, Juan Camus, found the image inside the house of a native. His house was razed by a fire that miraculously spared the holy image. Legazpi then named Cebu as the City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.
Today, the image now known as Santo Nino de Cebu, is considered as the oldest Christian relic in the country. It is enshrined and venerated at the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino, the oldest church in the country.
Largely a religious celebration and a thanksgiving festival, the street dancing that we know today had its beginnings with the traditional “sinulog,” a prayer dance that was offered to the Holy Child on its feast day every third Sunday of January.
Then a small celebration within the vicinity of the basilica, the carnival-like celebration soon became a major tourist event in Cebu.
Other festive and colorful celebrations in honor of the Holy Child include Kalibo, Aklan’s “Ati-Atihan” Festival where participants dress themselves in native Ati tribal garments, their faces smeared with ashes; “Romblon’s “Biniray” Festival; Cagayan de Oro City’s “Pachada Senor;” Butuan City’s “Kahimunan” Festival; Antique’s “Binirayan” and “Handugan” Festivals; Iloilo City’s “Dinagyang” Festival; and Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur’s, “Zambulawan” Festival. (Christina I. Hermoso)