Why do you think festivals are important to

our lives as Filipinos?

PHILIPPINE
FESTIVALS
What is Festival?

Festival dance are cultural dances performed to the strong

beats of percussion instruments by a community of
people sharing the same culture usually done in honor of
a patron saint or in thanksgiving of bountiful harvest.
Festival dances may be religious or secular in nature
 FESTIVALS IN LUZON

1. Pahiyas Festival
Farm families decorate
their houses with kiping or
bright-colored rice wafers to
thank San Isidro Labrador for a
bountiful harvest. The festival is
celebrated every May 15 and
while it is commonly associated
with Lucban, Quezon, it is also
held in Sariaya and Tayabas.
2. Panagbenga Festival
The word panagbenga
translates to “the season of
bloom”. The popular festival is
held every February to celebrate
the abundance of flowers in
Baguio City. There are
performances by tribes such as
Igorots and Ibalois; their dances
are inspired by their culture and
the celebrated blooms.
3. Bangus Festival
This festival pays tribute to
Dagupan City’s biggest industry
and features various activities
that highlight te milkfish or
bangus, such as parades and
competitions. It is held for 19
days in the month of April,
ending on the 28th.
4. Pagoda sa Wawa
The fluvial pagoda festival
commemorates the legendary
rescue of the Holy Cross from
the Bocaue River 200 years ago
every first Sunday of July in
Bocaue, Bulacan. The cross is
paraded on a pagoda with
beautiful trimmings and guided
by colourful bancas and
hundreds of people join the
procession for a nine-day
novena.
5. Bacao Festival (corn festival)
Celebrated in Echague,
Isabela every third week of The festival, which started in
March, the festival honors St. 2003, also aims to help the
Joseph, the patron saint of younger generation
workers and serves as a way appreciate Filipino traditions
to express gratitude for a like the bayanihan and spread
fruitful harvest. Echague is awareness about the Yogad
considered the country’s people where the term word
biggest corn hub as it bacao or “corn” came from.
produced 20 percent of the
Philippnes’ total corn output
in 2011, and March is the
season of harvesting corn.
6. Obando Fertility Rites
The festival is usually attended
by couples who hope to have children
by performing an ancient folk dance
that is said to encourage
reproduction. The festival is
celebrated every May 17 to 19.
7. Feast of Black Nazarene
Every January 9, the feast honors the
Black Nazarene or Nuestro Padre Jesus
Nazareno, the dark-colored wooden
sculpture of Jesus Christ that came all the
way from Mexico.
The statue is currently located at the
Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene in
Quiapo, Manila. During the feast, the
devotees accompany the statue in a
procession from Quirino Grandstand to the
Basilica; this is called translacion, which
literally means “transfer”. Devotees also
throw towels or handkerchieves to the
people guarding the Nazarene to wipe them
on the statue as they hope to be able to
carry its “power” with them
 FESTIVALS IN VISAYAS
1. Sinulog festival
This is held every third Sunday of
January in Cebu City. The festival honors
the former patron saint of the Cebu
province, Santo Niño. It is a dance ritual
that remembers the Filipino people’s
pagan roots and their acceptance of the
Christian faith.
Sinulog comes from the Cebuano
adverb sulog which means “like water
current movement”. The meaning of the
term perfectly describes the forward-
backward movement of the Sinulog
dance.
5. Padul-Ong Festival
Padul-ong Festival is a religious festival
in Borongan City in the province of Eastern
Samar, Philippines held every September
8th. A weeks-long festival, it is conducted in
honor of Nuestra Señora dela Natividad, the
patroness of the city. It also coincides with
Borongan City Native Pig Lechon Festival.
Padul-ong Festival comes from the
word padul-ong, which in the Waray
language means deliver or transport. As a
fiesta, it recalls the miraculous journey of
how Nuestra Señora dela Natividad (Nativity
of the Blessed Virgin Mary) became the
patroness of Borongan during the Spanish
rule.
2. Ati-Atihan Festival
It is celebrated every third week
of January in honor of Santo Niño at
kalibo, Panay. Participants paint their
faces, wear indigineous costumes, and
dance to drum rhythm beats similar to
the carnival drumming in Brazil.
3. Dinagyang Festival
Dinagyang is the Ilonggo word for
merry making. The festival is for the Holy
Child Jesus and is celebrated every fourth
Sunday of January in Iloilo. It features a
colourful parade as wll as participants
offering prayers, dances, and chants of
‘Viva Senor Santo Nino!” Ilonggos paint
their bodies black to imitate the black,
small slender Negritos who are the
aborigines of Pinay. The warriors are
dressed in fashionable and colourful Aeta
costumes and dance artistically and
rhythmically with complicated formations
along with the loud trashing and sound
drums.
4. Masskara Festival
It is the Festivalk of Smiles
from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental.
Unlik other festrivals, it is not
religious or tribal in nature. Instead,
the festival ironically has tragic
roots.the term masskara comes from
the two words; mass meaning
“crowd” and the Spanish cara, which
means “face”. Colorfully masked
dancers gyrate to the rhythm of Latin
beats.
5. Pintados kasadyaan festival
It displays the rich cultural
heritage and the native music and
dances of the people of Leyte and
Samar. A merry-making event that lasts
for a whole month, the affair includes
the Leyte Kasadyaan Festival of
Festivals, the 17th Pintados Festival
Ritual Dance Presentation, and the
“Pagrayhak” Grand Parade. These are
said to have began from the feast day
of Senor Santo Nino, held every June
29th.
6. Kaamulan Festival
Kaamulan is from the Binukid
word amul which means “to
gather”.The festivals is a gathering of
Bikdnon tribes for a purpose. It can
mean a datuship ritual, a wedding
ceremony, a thanksgiving festival
during harvest time, a peace pact, or
all of these put together. It showcases
the unique indigenous cultureof the
people from Malaybalay City,
Bukidnon from the second half of
Fevruary to march 10.
Kadayawan Festival
It is a yearly celebration in
Davao City during the third week of
August. It is a festivity of life, a
thanksgiving for the gifts of nature,
the wealth of culture, the bounties of
harvest, and serenity of living. It also
focuses on the multicolored mix of
Davao and Mindanao’s indigenous
communities as well as migrant
settlers, whose identities make up the
rich cultural heritage of the island.
FESTIVALS IN
MINDANAO
1.Tuna Festival
The yellow fin tuna fish
abound in the waters that
surround General Santos City,
effectively making the city one of
the leading producers of tuna
around the world. The festival is
celebrated every 5th day of
September.
Bonok-bonok Maradjao-Karajaw Festival
• A ritual dance of ethnic Mamanwas, is
performed during thanksgiving, wedding
ceremonies, and worship. The fiesta
from Surigao City, Surigao del Norte is
held every September 9.
• Bonok-bonok literally means “rain”
while maradjawkaradjaw means “very
good” the festival’s name means “Rain
showers, all the very best”.
• The rain is a symbol of blessing, good
tidings, good harvest, and happiness
among Surugainons.
• The festival is usually highlighted with
high-spirited dancing and chanting in
unison of “Viva Senior San Nicolas! Viva
Maradjaw Karajaw!
Hermosa Festival
• Every October, the scenic city of
Zamboanga known as the “City of
Flowers”, celebrated its grand
annual Zamboanga Hermosa
Festival, or the popularly known as
Fiesta Pilar with 12 days and nights
of events and celebrations.
• Mainly in honor of the miraculous
image of Our Lady of the Pilar
Nuestra Senoradel Pilar de Zaragosa.
The people passionately believe that
the lady has served as their unifying
cultural and historical symbol.
4. Lanzones festival
This is held every third week of
October and it is a four-day grand
celebration that highlights lanzones, the
most important source of livelihood in
Camiguin.
According to the legend, an
unknown beautiful maiden took the
fruit’s past bitter flavour and replced it
with the delicious and sweet taste of the
Lanzones today, thus townsfolk dance in
the streets to celebrate this,. It is also
celebrated to give thanks for making
Mindanao a cultural tourism destination
and for the bountiful harvest of all their
agricultural products.
 1. What is festival dance?
2. Give me an example of festival in Luzon?
Visayas? and Mindanao?
3.What do you usually see in a festival?
4.What common design and display?
Activity: ‘Sing, Stop and Answer’.
Directions: You will pass the ball to your
classmates while the music is playing. When
the music stops, the person who has the ball
will pick 1 strip of paper and answer the
question written.
Directions: Choose the letter of the correct
answer.
1.What are the two types of festival?
a.Christian and Muslim festival
b.Foreign or Local festival
c.Religious or Non-religious Festival
d.None of the above

2.What month ati-atihan celebrated?

a.may
b.April
c.March
d.January
3.This festival come from the word “season of blooming”
a.Moriones festival
b.Pahiyas festival
c.Ati-atihan festival
d.Panagbenga festival

4. This festival celebrated in January except

a.Ati-atihan
b.Sinulog
c.Dinagyang
d.Panagbenga

5.MassKara festival is part of?

a.None Religious
b.Christian
c.Religious
d.Local
1.Interview your grandparents or some eldest from
your barangay about your festival or fiesta. Ask these
questions and write in a long bond paper.
a.When did the first celebration happen?
b.What artists skills are being used for the celebration
of your fiesta?
c.How will you promote festivals dances in your
provinces?