Top 4 Fiesta Celebrations in the Philippines for 2018

Where: Lucban, Quezon

When: May 15

The start off the list is the bright Pahiyas Festival of Lucban, Quezon. The word pahiyas means “décor,” and is considered as the most colorful harvest festival in the country. Celebrated in honor of San Isidro Labrador, the festival showcases houses decorated with vegetables, fruits, and other agricultural products. Since the Pahiyas Festival happens every summer, many have known it to be the go-to getaway for summer travelers who want to join in on the festivities. Serving also as a religious celebration, the festival is also procession where the image San Isidro Labrador is carried and flaunted along the major roads in town.

Where: Marinduque

When: March 26 to April 1

The Moriones Festival is another creative and colorful festival held during the Holy Week in the island province of Marinduque. The participants wear “Moriones” masks and costumes that replicate the attire of Roman soldiers during biblical times as the way the locals interpret them. The “morion” refers to the visor on the helmet that goes with the armor of Roman soldiers. While the term “Moriones” was coined by the media in the 1960s, local inhabitants still use the term “Moryonan.”

During the festival’s seven-day duration, visitors and tourists serve as witness to the vividly costumed men and women in Moriones outfits walking around town. This parade depicts the search by Roman soldiers for Longinus, whose blind eye was cured after getting hit by the blood of Jesus Christ, and then later converting to Christianity. The festival’s climax is the scene portraying the beheading of Longinus.

Where: Cebu City, Cebu

When: Every third Sunday of January

A loud and joyful whistle followed by the ever-energetic beating of the drums are familiar sounds to anyone who has witnessed the Sinulog Festival. The Sinulog is a dance ritual performed in honor of the image of the Santo Niño (“Holy Child”). The sound of the drums provides the beat for the dance moves that resemble the sulog (current) of the Pahina River. Historians say the natives were already dancing the Sinulog even before the Spaniards set foot in Cebu.

The religious demonstration of the festival culminates with a solemn procession attended by hundreds of thousands of devotees who accompany the image of the Santo Niño as it goes around the city. Another highlight of the festival is the Sinulog Grand Parade, where participants wearing colorful costumes dance to the beat of the drums.

Read: 10 Essential Tips for You to Have an Enjoyable Time During Sinulog

Standing on the top spot is not one, not two, but three festivals which ruled the hearts of many.

If you have to name a festival after one of the country’s tastiest and most sought-after dish, then you can bet it will be an extravagant feast. The Lechon Festival of Balayan, Batangas is held to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ by St. John the Baptist. Also known as the Parada ng Lechon, the annual festival has always seen the lechon (roasted pig) dressed up based on a theme selected by the organizing bodies. In the past, visitors and attendees of the festival have seen the most peculiar, including a lechon dressed as a motorcycle driver, as a basketball player, as a cook, and even a beauty queen. Since it is celebrated on the feast day of St. John the Baptist, visitors better be prepared to get wet after the parade of the lechon.

Read: Top 3 Best Lechon in the Philippines 2017

The Masskara Festival is another annual festival that originated from the time when the sugar industry in Negros was facing a crisis, with sugar substitutes gravely dwindling in the 1980s. The term masskara is a combination of two words: “mass” which means many, and the Spanish word “cara,” which refers to a man’s face. The festival is perhaps the best reason Bacolod has been able to live up to its moniker as the “City of Smiles,” with the way it lifts up the spirits of the people especially at a time of great conflict. Visitors attending the festival can expect contingents wearing colorful costumes and masks while participating in a street dance competition. Since it is held on the Charter Day of Bacolod, the city also holds a countdown on the eve of the festival.

The Panagbenga Festival, literally “Flower Festival,” is a parade of floral grandeur celebrated every year in Baguio. Panagbenga is a Kankanaey word which means “season of blooming.” Celebrated during the month of hearts, the festival is celebrated as a tribute to the way Baguio City was able to rise up following the 1990 earthquake that devastated the city. Aside from the usual street dancing and parties, one of the highlights of the festival is a parade of floats beautifully decorated with flowers of all colors, shapes, and sizes. The float parade is similar to the Rose Parade held in Pasadena, California at the start of each year.