Mapeh (Religious Festivals)

• Pahiyas Festival


  • Famous festival in Lucban Quezon
  • Celebrated every 15th of May in honor of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers in the Philippines
  • The festival's name comes from hiyas (jewel) and pahiyas (precious offering)
• Pahiyas Festival


  • Held in thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest
  • Showcases a street of houses adorned with fruits, vegetables, agricultural products, handicrafts and kiping
  • A kiping is a decoration made from rice flour which can be grilled or fried for eating afterwards
  • The houses are decorated with kiping for competition
  • Many tourists visit Lucban's Pahiyas Festival to see the colorful decorated houses and take part in the procession of San Isidro Labrador
• Obando Festival


  • The Obando fertility rite is a dance ritual and catholic festival celebrated every May
  • Tourists and local participants, dressed in traditional costumes, dance and sing in the streets to beseech Obando's three patron saints to grant them either children, a husband, a wife or good fortune
• Obando's patron saints


  • San Pedro Baylon (St. Paschal) - model of religious virtue
  • San Clara (St. Clare) - saint to whom married women pray to bear children; and single men and women request for a mate
  • Nuestra Senora de Salambao (Our lady of Salambao) - saint to whom fishermen/farmers ask for good catch and good harvest
• Moriones Festival


  • One of the most colorful festivals celebrated in the island of Marinduque
  • The moriones refers to the masked and costumed penitents who march around the town for seven days searching for Longinus
  • The week-long celebration starts on Holy Monday and culminates on Easter Sunday where the story of Longinus is re-enacted in pantomime
• Ati-Atihan Festival


  • The festival means "pretending to be like an Ati"
  • It is called the mother of all Filipino festivals
  • Held annually in January to honor the Santo Nino who is credited with saving the locals from Moros
  • It is a two week celebration that ends on the third Sunday of the month
• Ati-Atihan Festival


  • Celebrants paint their face with black soot to imitate the Negritos who have dark skin and curly hair
  • Those who perform in the parade also wear colorful and elaborate costumes. It is comparable with the mardigrass celebration in the other parts of the world
• Sinulog Festival


  • An annual cultural and religious festival held annually on the third Sunday of January
  • It is celebration of the acceptance of Catholicism and the triumph of Christianity over secular regions that the country previously upheld
• Sinulog Festival


  • The street parade is the iconic hallmark of the festival. It lasts for 12 hours and draws local participants from different parts of the country
  • Participants are usually adorned in resplendent regalia and engage in graceful rhythmic dance patterns
• Dinagyang Festival


  • Is a religious and cultural festival celebrated every fourth Sunday of January
  • It is held to honor the Sto. Nino and celebrate the arrival of Malay settlers in Panay Island and the subsequent selling of the island by the Atis
• Dinagyang Festival


  • The Ati tribe competition, the Kasadyahan cultural competition, the Miss Iloilo Dinagyang, the fluvial procession and the religious sadsad or street dance are the main highlights of the festival
  • It has grown to be one of the Philippines most spectacular religious and cultural festival
• Santacruzan

  • There are two other events during Flores de Mayo which led Filipinos to name it Queen of all festivals: the sagala and the santacruzan
  • The sagala refers to the girls and women who play important roles in flores de mayo's culminating parade, the santacruzan
  • The santacruzan is the pageant on the last day of the flores de mayo held in honor of Helena of Contantine (Reyna Elena) and Constantine, the great's pilgrimage to find the true cross
  • The santacruzan is held in almost every town to honor beautiful Philippine maidens and their handsome escorts under bamboo arches decorated with artificial flowers
• Flores de mayo known as Flores de Maria (Flowers of Mary) or Alay (Offering) is a yearly catholic and Aglipayan celebration in May that pays tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary
• These are both occasions that gather local Filipino church groups to celebrate the faith through thanksgiving and remembrance of the culture and heritage of the Philippines