Festival in the Philippines

When used as in the meaning of a festival, most often refers to a religious festival
rather than a film or art festival. In the Philippines and many other former Spanish
colonies, the Spanish word fiesta is used to denote a communal religious feast to
honor a patron saint.

This is a list of festival in the Philippines, known as "fiestas." The majority of

fiestas in the Philippines also have their own peryas (trade fairs with temporary
amusement parks). The origin of most early fiestas is rooted in Christianity, dating
back to the Spanish Colonial period when the many communities (such as barrios
and towns) of the predominantly Catholic. Philippines almost always had a patron
saint assigned to each of them. Originally encouraged by the Spanish to coincide
with Christian holy days, early festivals became vital instruments in spreading
Christianity throughout the country.
Fiestas in the Philippines can be religious, cultural, or both. Several of these are
held to honor the local Roman Catholic patron saint, to commemorate local history
and culture, to promote the community's products, or to celebrate a bountiful
harvest. They can be marked by Holy Masses, processions, parades, theatrical play
and reenactments, religious or cultural rituals, trade fairs, exhibits, concerts,
pageants and various games and contests. However, festivals in the country are not
limited to Christian origins. Many festivals also focus on Islamic or indigenous
concepts. There are more than 42,000 known major and minor festivals in the
Philippines, the majority of which are in the barangay (village) level. Due to the
thousands of towns, city, provincial, national, and village fiestas in the country, the
Philippines has traditionally been known as the Capital of the World's Festivities.
Some festivals, such as Holy Week and Christmas, are declared as public holidays,
and thus, are observed and celebrated nationwide.

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10 Best Festivals in the Philippines
1. Sinulog Festival
Cebu City (Third week/Sunday of January)
Sinulog Festival is annually celebrated for cultural and religious purposes. This event is
celebrated in other parts of the country where the local government arranges the festival. The
event will consist of a street party, dancing, and performing locals in traditional costumes. The
Catholic Santo Niño is the centre of this celebration, but the Sinulog dance ritual also
commemorates the Filipinos’ pagan past, along with their acceptance of Christianity.

2. Ati-Atihan
Kalibo, Aklan (Third week/Sunday of January)
Another celebration to honour the Santo Niño, Ati-Atihan is where people go to the streets
parading their traditional costumes and weapons, and painting their bodies black. Participants
march and dance in the town, matched with loud drumbeats. This festival will definitely make
you dance your heart out while enjoying a true Filipino atmosphere.

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3. Dinagyang Festival
Iloilo City (Fourth weekend of January)
Dinagyang Festival is one of the largest festivals in the country. It’s when Iloilo takes the street
festivals to the next level. The city converts all its streets into a massive open-air festival and
everyone is invited. Mouthwatering local dishes are overflowing whilst there are bands playing
in every alley you turn to. Every barangay and school will come together and have an
extravagant dance competition.
4. Panagbenga Festival
Baguio City (February)
One of longest festivals in the Philippines, Panagbenga is celebrated throughout the month of
February. This month highlights the season of blooming flowers, at the same time, this is also to
commemorate our rise from the disastrous 1990 earthquake in Luzon. Marvellous floats,
designed with various types of flowers, conquer the streets of Baguio City. Tourists can expect
street dancing by dancers wearing flower-inspired costumes. Expect it to be even colder in
Baguio when you visit as this festival is celebrated in February.

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5. Moriones Festival
Marinduque (Holy Week/March or April)
This is a festival that lasts for a week in Marinduque. Moriones is the celebration of the life of St.
Longinus whose eye was healed by the blood of Christ. Since most Filipinos don’t work during
the Holy Week and this event follows the schedule of the Holy Week, a lot of locals stay in
Marinduque to celebrate the festival. Morion refers to the helmet of the people dressed as Roman
soldiers, while Moriones  refers to the people who dress as these Roman soldiers. These
costumed Moriones  roam the streets for seven days, scaring children and making noise to reenact
the search for Longinus, the centurion who pierced Jesus on the cross with a spear.

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6. Pahiyas Festival
Lucban, Quezon (May 15)
May 15 is when the locals of Lucban decorate their houses extravagantly with vibrant and lively
colours. Vegetables are hung as decorations because this festival celebrates the season of
harvesting. People are allowed to bring their own basket and pick fresh vegetables from the
walls, with no charge – happy fiesta and shopping at the same time!

7. Pintados-Kasadayan Festival
Tacloban City (June 29th)
Pintados-Kasadayan Festival is another religious celebration in the name of the Santo Niño held
in Tacloban City. It showcases the rich culture and colourful history of the province of Leyte.
The dancers paint their faces and bodies with vibrant colours of blue and green to depict Leyte’s
ancestral people. Some dancers are also painted with designs that look like armour to represent
the warriors that lived in Leyte long ago.
The folk dances they perform portray the many traditions people of Leyte practiced before the
Spanish era. Among these is the worship of idols, indigenous music, and epic stories, to name a
few. The term, pintados, is derived from what the tattooed native warriors of Leyte were once
called, while kasadayan means merriment in the Visayan tongue.

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8. Sirong Festival
Surigao del Sur (August 15th)
Sirong Festival is another cultural and religious celebration. Various towns claim that it
originated in their municipalities in Surigao del Sur. Most of these towns were founded during
the pre-Spanish occupation and were attacked by the Moros. Sirong Festival features a war dance
between the Muslims and the Christians. It marks the Christianization of the early Cartilaginous.
Whoever wins the best dance in the festival brings home a cash prize.

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9. Masskara Festival
Bacolod City (October)
A festival that is celebrated from the city of smiles – Bacolod City. Mass (crowd) kara (face)
Festival is filled with people wearing colourful smiling masks designed with feathers, flowers,
and native beads. The festival allows tourists to enjoy 20 days of beer drinking, street dancing,
and merrymaking. Every street is filled with locals wearing their smiling masks and festive
costumes while dancing around and spreading the happy atmosphere throughout the city.
During the festival, locals are encouraged to forget the economic struggle brought about by the
dead season of the sugar harvest. They also see the festival as their way of escapism and
obscurantism. The sugar harvest is important to the people of Bacolod since Negros Occidental,
where Bacolod is found, is known as the Sugar Bowl of the Philippines.

10. Giant Lantern Festival

San Fernando (the weekend before Christmas Eve)
San Fernando organizes the biggest festival in the country. It features a competition of giant
lantern making, which is why it has been called the “Christmas Capital of the Philippines”. This
is also to celebrate the Christmas season, where participants produce up to fifteen-foot diameter
lanterns. It is a rule that each lantern should be made out of locally available materials. These
lanterns are showcased in a parade in each barrio before the midnight mass on Christmas Eve.
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This list is not even half of the notable festivals in the Philippines. There are plenty more to
discover but the ones mentioned above should give you a great start. Make sure to go on the right
date and month so as not to miss any of these awesome festivals.
10. Pina Festival
Ormoc City (every June)
is a true celebration of the things that are important to Ormocanons. And taking the center stage
is the city’s unofficial icon — the queen table pineapple. Honoring the city’s patron saints San
Pablo and San Pedro and its world-famous Queen Pineapple, the festival has become another
great addition to the long list of reasons visitors flock to the city each year. The pineapple is the
city’s star product. And this is the exact reason why the Piña Festival was conceptualized.