Devotees from different parts of the country will celebrate the Feast of the Santo Niño with pre-pandemic festivities on Sunday, Jan. 15.
In Metro Manila, thirty-three fiesta masses, starting on Jan. 14 at 3 p.m. until 12 midnight, and from 12 midnight until 11 p.m. on Jan. 15, will be celebrated at the Archdiocesan Shrine of Santo Niño de Tondo Parish in Manila. The shrine is the center of celebrations in the metropolis.
A motorcade will be held on Jan. 14 and 15. Novena masses in barangays and at the church were held from Jan. 5 to 13.
In Pandacan, Manila, eight holy masses will be celebrated on Sunday, Jan. 15, at the Santo Niño de Pandacan Parish with the first mass to be held at 6 a.m. and the last mass at 6:30 p.m. The praying of the holy rosary and novena was held from Jan. 6 to 14.
In Cebu City, the widely popular ‘Sinulog’ in honor of Senor Santo Niño, the oldest festival in the archipelago, will be held once again after a two-year break. Cebuanos do not consider the Christmas Season over until after the celebration of the festive “Sinulog” Festival.
The heart of the “Sinulog” is the locals’ centuries-old devotion to the Holy Child, whose miraculous image is greeted with cries of “Viva Senor Santo Niño!” “Hail to the Child King!” and “Pit Senor!” from the phrase “Sangpit sa Senyor” (Call to Senor).
The Cebuanos’ devotion to the Child Jesus has deep historical roots. The image of the Holy Child was brought to the country by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan on April 14, 1521, as a gift to Queen Juana of Cebu, who was reportedly moved to tears after she saw the 15-inch tall wooden statue of the Santo Niño. She allowed herself to be baptized as a Christian, along with her husband Rajah Humabon, and more than 800 natives. After Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan, not much was heard about the image, except that the Cebuanos worshipped Santo Niño as a rain god.
In 1565, when Spanish conqueror Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu, a Spanish soldier, Juan Camus, found the image inside the house of a native. His house was razed by a fire that miraculously spared the holy image. Legazpi then named Cebu as the City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.
Today, the image now known as Santo Niño de Cebu is considered the oldest Christian relic in the country. It is enshrined and venerated at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, the oldest church in the country. Largely a religious celebration and a thanksgiving festival, the street dancing that we know today had its beginnings with the traditional “Sinulog,” a prayer dance that was offered to the Holy Child on its feast day every third Sunday of January. Then a small celebration within the vicinity of the basilica, the carnival-like celebration soon became a major tourist event in Cebu.
Other festive and colorful celebrations in honor of the Holy Child include Kalibo, Aklan’s “Ati-Atihan” Festival where participants dress themselves in native Ati tribal garments, their faces smeared with ashes.
It will be held again after a two-year hiatus attracting more than 50,000 devotees during its recent opening. The face-to-face street dancing will once again be held as well as the “Palapak” tradition where church volunteers massage devotees with a small image of the Child Jesus.
Other festivities in honor of the Santo Niño include “Romblon’s, “Biniray” Festival; Cagayan de Oro City’s, “Pachada Senor;” Butuan City’s, “Kahimunan” Festival; Antique’s “Binirayan” and “Handugan” Festivals; Iloilo City’s, “Dinagyang” Festival; and Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur’s, “Zambulawan” Festival.
In Maypajo, Caloocan City, a procession of the different images of the Holy Child and street dancing will serve as the highlight of the “Pajotan de Sto. Niño” Festival. In Pasig City, the Bambino Festival in honor of the Child Jesus will be celebrated with a mass and a procession. Celebrations will also be held in Malolos, Bulacan; Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; Binalonan, Pangasinan; and in several other cities and provinces.
After each Eucharistic celebration, children are traditionally blessed by priests in observance of the feast as well as to highlight the observance of the month of Jan. as the Month of the Child Jesus.