The Sinulog Festival is an annual cultural and Catholic festival
held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City. It is the centre of the Santo
Niño (Child Jesus) celebration in the Philippines.
The Sinulog celebration lasts for nine days, culminating
on the final day with the Sinulog Grand Parade. The day before the parade, the
religious Fluvial Procession sponsored by the Archdiocese of Cebu is held at
dawn with a statue of the Santo Niño carried on a beautifully decorated pump
boat which sails from Mandaue City to Cebu City, decked with hundreds of
flowers and candles. The procession ends at the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino
de Cebu where a re-enactment of the baptism to the Christian faith (that is,
the acceptance of Roman Catholicism) of Cebu is performed. In the afternoon, a
more solemn procession takes place along the major streets of Cebu City, which
last for hours due to large crowd participation in the event.
One of the main highlights of the festival is the grand
street parade which lasts for 9 to 12 hours (practically the entire day) with
participants coming from the different towns and cities of Cebu and from Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao across the Philippines. The Sinulog dance contingents are
dressed in bright coloured costumes dancing gracefully to the rhythm of drums,
trumpets and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are held in various
parts of the province, also to celebrate and honour the Santo Niño.
This postcard came from Ronan P. (8 July 2015) Direct
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