Festivals are folk dances performed to commemorate a Patron saint or to give grace for the

abundant harvest. The strong beats of percussion instruments accompanied by the energetic
choreography of the dancers make festivals very entertaining and lively.
It is known for its grand vibrant display of houses. Farmers and townspeople from Lucban,
Quezon celebrate Pahiyas festival in honor of Saint Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers.
Thus, it is considered to be a religious jubilee that takes place every 15th of May. The people
adorn their houses with the beautiful display of fruits, vegetables, and handicrafts to celebrate
the event.

Pahiyas is contextualized as “precious offering” which is connoted from the root word “hiyas”
which means jewel. Since then, it became a tradition for the people to celebrate it every May in
conjunction with the plentiful harvest.

Kiping, a Lucban rice wafer delicacy is another attraction of the festival. The highlight of the
festival is the procession of dancing parades carrying statues of San Isidro Labrador.
Bangus (milkfish) is considered to be the national fish of the Philippines. It is a favorite dish
among Filipino cuisine like the sinigang and daing. Pangasinan is one of the provinces in the
Philippines that produces a large harvest of bangus. It is located in the northwestern region
bounded by the Lingayen Gulf and neighboring Ilocano provinces.

The first festival happened in May 2002 as conceptualized by the previous city government.
From then on, the festival became phenomena for the long lane of grilling milkfish which led to
the Guinness World Record of longest barbecue grilling of bangus last 2003.

This event usually takes place at a 2-week duration between April and May when the season of
harvest of bangus is very high.
The first event of the festival took place in 1996 when the city officials spearheaded the
celebration for the blooming of flowers. It acquired the name form a kankanaey term for “the
season for blooming, a time for flowering.” The festival was inspired to show the traditions and
values of Baguio townsfolk and Cordilleras.

Bendian dance, an Ibaloi dance of celebration. The dance involves circular movements
symbolically representing the unity and harmony among the members of the tribe – themes
that indicate the coming together of the various sectors of the community to bring the Flower
Festival to life.
 Classify each statement if it describes either Pahiyas, Bangus, or Panagbenga festival.

1. It is celebrated to honor San Isidro de Labrador.

2. This is the festival that started in 1989.

3. This is a colorful festival featuring flowers.

4. Quezon province showcases colorful fruits and vegetables for this festival.

5. This festival officially started in 1996.

This festival was initially conceptualized to help the Ilonggos in promoting masks as their
livelihood to aid in the misery they felt when the sugar market crashed down.

In its pioneering year, another tragic event happened, a navigation luxury ship named MS Don
Juan crashed with a tanker, thus, killing a lot of their compatriots. It almost hindered the launch
of the festival conceptualized for many years. However, the festival continued and became the
symbol of Filipino resiliency.
From then on, Bacolod city celebrated it annually and became a popular tourist attraction.
Dancers wearing happy face masks became the signature of the event. This is annually
celebrated every October.

Sinulog Festival is one of the secular festivals in the Philippines. A yearly celebration every

third Sunday of January in Cebu City where Sto. Nino is the center of the festivity.

However, it is believed to be of pagan origin. It was accounted that native Cebuanos used to
have a ritual of idol worshipping before the arrival of Magellan. Then, when the Raja Humabon
and Hara Amihan baptized to Catholicism, Magellan gave a Santo Niño statue as a gift to the
wife of Rajah Humabon. From then on, the statue of Santo Niño became a representation for
their idol worshipping until the Spaniards came back and conquered the land.

The dance synchronizes with the beat of the drums which features the movement of Sulog, the
previous Pahina River of Cebu. This is the origin of the name of the Sinulog Festival.
Ati-atihan is a festival held every third Sunday of January in honor of the Sto. Nino the island
and town of Kalibo, Aklan.

In the old times, the Ati locals suffered from famish, and to survive the Ati tribe went down
from the mountains and started to beg for food in the barrios. Interestingly, the Datus
welcomed them and gave them food and drinks to eat. Ati people were very indebted and to
show their gratitude they decided to give something in return. They painted their faces and
arms with charcoal and worn different colorful dresses and showed a dance ritual. This became
a custom among Ati people and was adapted for several generations. It evolved to become a
secular festival featuring Santo Niño when Spaniards influenced it with Christian significance.
 Classify each statement if it describes either Masskara, Sinulog, or Ati-Atihan festival.

1. It is celebrated for the arrival of Christianity in Cebu.

2. This is the festival that started in 1980 in Bacolod city to promote resilience amidst tragedies.

3. This is a colorful festival featuring Santo Niño celebrated every January by Cebuanos.

4. It is distinct for the black body paint on dancers.

5. Ati people started this fest to give thanks to the Datus.

Camiguin is the largest place in the Philippines to produce langsat, another term for lanzones.
The people of Camiguin celebrates a thanksgiving festival for lanzones as it is their major source
of income. They celebrate it for four days in October.

The term lanzones came from the word lason, which means poison. According to a legend, in
ancient time lanzones tree was believed to be poisonous. It became the belief as some folks
witnessed a man died when the fruit touched his lips. The people became afraid and avoided
even from touching the tree. There came a time that the people suffered from famine. Then,
the folks witnessed a beautiful lady pinched the lanzones fruit, and before they can warn her,
she already had bitten it. The people were surprised that she did not die. She explained that
when she pinched the fruit, she removed the poison and its bitter taste and replaced it with a
delicious and sweet taste. The people ate the fruit and found out that it was true and helped them
relieve their hunger.

T’nalak is a woven fabric of red, black and green

variant (hue of abaca leaves) of colors. The
indigent women of the T’boli tribe skillfully weave
the fibers with different shades to form the
elegant looking piece of cloth. The festival is
celebrated in mid-July and is part of the
commemorations for the anniversary of the
founding of South Cotabato province, and includes
a civic parade with colorful floats and street
dancing.

The celebration starts with Dayana Civic Parade highlighted by a float and a cheer dance
competition, and closes with the T'nalak Parade or Madal Bel'. This colorful street dancing
competition offers unique entertainment.
Tuna is a saltwater fish abundant in General Santos City, the Tuna Capital of the Philippines.
General Santos is known as the glorious source of tuna globally.

In 1988, the first Tuna festival was launched. It was extravagant and lively as floating parades
and street dancing parade with tuna as the main theme of the occasion.
 Classify each statement if it describes either the Lanzones, T’nalak, or Tuna festival.

1. Lanzones is being celebrated.

2. Tuna fish is being celebrated.

3. It is celebrated in South Cotabato.

4. It is celebrated in Camiguin province.

5. It is celebrated in General Santos City.