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- PUBLIC
HOLIDAYS
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- *Few
department stores and shops are open during
holidays. Most offices and business establishment
are closed.
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More Information
Visit our LIBRARY
January
1
January: New Year's Day
First Sunday in January: Three
Kings' Day
9 January: Feast
of the Black Nazarene
Third Weekend: Ati-Atihan
Third Weekend:
Feast
of Saint Nino
Fourth weekend: The
Ibayay Ati-Atihan
January/February: Chinese
New Year
February
2 February: Feast
of Our Lady of Candelaria
11 February: Feast of Our
Lady of Lourdes
14 February: St Valentines'
Day
22-25 February: People
Power Days
26 February: Dia
de Zamboanga
March/April
Holy Week: Moriones
Festival
9 April: Bataan
Day
14-15 April: Lami-Lamihan
Festival
27 April: Bahug-Bahugan
sa Mactan
April (May or June):
Turrumba Festival
May
1-30 May: Santacruzan
3 May: Carabao
Carroza
6 May: Araw
ng Kagitingan
14-15 May: Carabao
Festival
12 June: Independence
Day
19 June: Birthday
of Dr. Jose Rizal
22-25 June: Halaran
Festival
24 June: Feast
of San Juan Buatista
24 June: Manila
Day
28-30 June: Feast of the Saint Peter and Paul
July
4 July: Filipino-American
Friendship Day
29 July: Pateros
River Fiesta
August
Kadayawan
sa Dabaw
26 August: Cry
of Balitawak
September
Third Weekend: Penafrancia
Festival
29 September: Ang
Sinulog
October
10-12 October. Zamboanga
Hermosa
Second Sunday: La Naval de
Manila
19 October: Masskara
Festival
November
1 November: All
Saint's Day
23 November: Feast
of San Clemente
30 November: Bonifacio
Day
November/December: Grand
Canao
December
8 December: Feast
of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
16-24 December: Simbang
Gabi
24 December: Giant
Lantern Festival
25 December: Christmas
28 December: Holy Innocents'
Day
30 December:
Rizal Day
31 December: New Year's Eve
January
1
January: New
Year's Day.
Family gatherings to celebrate media noche (a
traditional midnight repast), loud explosions
of fireworks, and midnight mass for the more devout.
First
Sunday in January: Three
Kings' Day.
The Feast of Epiphany which marks the end of Christmas.
Children receive gifts and star-shaped lanterns
are hung in doorways and windows to symbolise
the guiding star of the story. Santa Cruz and
Gasan on Marinduque have special parades on this
day.
9
January: Feast
of the Black Nazarene.
A lifesize image of Christ is dragged through
the streets of Quiapo in Manila by a barefoot
penitent. The procession culminates with a mass
at Quiapo Church. The event is attended by ain
excess of 100,000 people, many of whom try, in
an act of ritual cleansing, to touch the image
with a handkerchief or piece of cloth.
Third
Weekend: Ati-Atihan.
Held in Kalibo on Panay Island, this festival
is one of the largest and most exuberant fanfares
of colour, musoc dance, costume and masks found
anywhere in the islands. Often compared to the
carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the Ati-atihan combines
the atmosphere and energy of a Mardi Gras with
the stunning visuals of an Italian carnivale.
Try to book a room from Manila before turning
up.
Third
Weekend:
Feast of Saint Nino. Tondo
(Manila) and Cebu are good place to be for this
event, which marks the feast of the Holy Infant.
This also denotes the end of the week-long Pasundayag
sa Sinulog, a festival that is also celebrated
in Kabankalan on Negros. Families take small Santo
Nino statuettes to their churches to be blessed,
and there are performances of the sululog dance.
Fourth
weekend: The
Ibayay Ati-Atihan.
A second Ati-Atihan festival takes place 30 kilometers
northwest of Kalibo on the weekend after the main
event. The festival here is simpler and, perhaps,
more authentic than the Kalibo version.
January/February:
Chinese
New Year.
Chinatown in Manila is the place to be to catch
the firecrackers and dragon dances that announce
the Chinese New Year celebrations. These can take
place any time between 21 January and 19 February,
depending upon the ebb and flow of the lunar calendar.
February
2
February: Feast
of Our Lady of Candelaria.
A festival that honours the patron saint of Jaro,
a suburb in the city of Iloilo. It is sasid to
be the largest religious festival held in the
western Visayas.
11
February: Feast
of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Held in Kanlaon Street, Quezon City, this feast,
which also takes place in San Juan del Monte in
Bulacan Province, celebrates the appearance of
the Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France.
14
February: St
Valentines' Day.
The romantic Filipinos set much stock by this
day. Presents and cards are sent, and restaurants,
discos and cinemas enjoy a brisk business.
22-25
February: People
Power Days.
Nobody, quite rightly, wishes to forget those
memorable few days which brought down the Marcos
administration and saw the restoration of democracy.
The 25th is an official holiday.
26
February: Dia
de Zamboanga.
This is a celebration of Muslim and Christian
culture accompanied by religious rituals, regattas
and cultural displays.
March/April
Holy
Week: Moriones
Festival.
Easter time sees the performance of many passion
plays throughtout the Philippines. The most renowned
is the Moriones Festival of Marinduque. Many ceremonies
and rituals lead up to the main event which begins
on Good Friday and climaxes on Easter Sunday,
when a one-eyed Longinus chased, and finally beheaded,
by masked centurions.
9
April: Bataan
Day.
This is a day of remembrance for the battle which
led to the fall of Bataan in 1942, the capture
of many soldiers by the Japanese and the infamous
Death March. Ceremonies are held at the Mount
Samat Shrine in Bataan and at Capas in Tarlac.
14-15
April: Lami-Lamihan
Festival.
An interesting local festival held in Basilan
in which local cultural minorities, dressed in
their best costumes, join in parades, dances and
horse races.
27
April: Bahug-Bahugan
sa Mactan.
A beach on Mactan Island is the annual scene of
the landing and death of Magellan. Mock battles
are fought early in the morning (usually between
8 am and 10 am) in the shallow sea where the helpless
navigator met his end.
April
(May or June):
Turrumba Festival.
An image of Our Lady of Sorrows of Turrumba was
found floating in Laguna Lake in 1778, and ever
since then a festival has been held in honour
of this talismatic figure believed to possess
mysterious healing powers.
May
1-30
May: Santacruzan.
Celebrated
all over the islands. A novena precedes this pageant
in which the prettiest girls from each village
are assigned biblical roes and paraded under floral
arches in flower tiaras and ternos, traditional
butterfly-sleeved dresses. Floral floats, brass
bands and candle-lit parades are held in some
towns and cities.
3
May: Carabao
Carroza.
Pavia, a town to the north of Iloilo City in Panay,
plays host to a number of water buffalo races
in which 18 different districts, or barrios, compete
with each other. A fiesta takes place the next
day.
6
May: Araw
ng Kagitingan.
This day pays tribute to Filipinos who have shown
exceptional courage in the service of the country.
14-15
May: Carabao
Festival.
This festival is held to honour San Isidro, patron
saint of farmers. Water buffaloes are led to the
local church square where they are ritually blessed.
Water buffalo races are held on the following
day. The main venues for this festival are San
Isidro (Nueva Ecija Province). Pulilan (Bulacan
Province0 and Angono (Riza Province).
June
12
June: Independence
Day.
Church bells ring early in the morning in thanksgiving
for the founding of the First Philippine Republic
in 1898. There are huge military parades, concerts,
speeches and fireworks.
19
June: Birthday
of Dr. Jose Rizal.
Holiday and tribute to the Philippines' foremost
national hero.
22-25
June: Halaran
Festival.
Roxas City's version of the Ati-Atihan festival.
24
June: Feast
of San Juan Buatista.
A re-enactment of the life and deeds of St. John
the baptist. Like the Songkran Festival in Thailand,
water is liberally thrown not only over the devout,
but over anyone else who happens to be passing
by.
24
June: Manila
Day.
A film festival and parade mark the anniversary
of Manila's declaration as a city in 1571.
28-30
June: Feast
of the Saint Peter and Paul.
The people of Apalit in Pampanga hold host parades
over these days.
July
4
July: Filipino-American
Friendship Day.
Historical ties and pledges of friendship are
made at the US Embassy, wreath laying ceremonies
take place, and in Rizal Park there is an evening
concert.
29
July: Pateros
River Fiesta.
In the duck-breeding suburb of Pateros, a curious
festival is held in which the hunting and killing
of a crocodile that had threatened the livelihood
of the farmers here is re-enacted.
August
Kadayawan
sa Dabaw.
A two week-long Orchid Festival held in Davao,
on Mindanao. There is also a Food and Drink Festival
and a Tribal Festival.
26
August: Cry
of Balitawak.
A number of festivities take place on the actual
spot where Bonifacio made his historic call for
armed struggle against the Spanish.
September
Third
Weekend: Penafrancia
Festival.
The beauty of this river festival, culminating
in a graceful boat parade on the Naga River, attracts
many tourists.
29
September: Ang
Sinulog.
A major week-long festival held in Iligan City.
October
10-12
October. Zamboanga
Hermosa.
Dedicated to the patron saint of the city. Nuestra
Senora del Pilar, this festival includes many
religious ceremonies, cultural presentations,
and the electing of Miss Zamboanga.
Second
Sunday: La
Naval de Manila.
An evening candle-lit procession from St. Domingo
Church honours Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, whose
intercession is credited with being the cause
of a number of naval victories over the Dutch
in 1646.
19
October: Masskara
Festival.
Smiling masks are the symbols of this festival,
the biggest on Negros. The festival lasts for
one week, climaxing in a colourful street parade.
November
1
November: All
Saint's Day.
A national holiday to commemorate the dead. Families
gather at cemeteries and often stay overnight,
keeping impressive candle-lit vigil over their
lost ones. The Chinese, who have a special revernce
for their ancestors, turn out in droves for this
remembrance event. The Chinese Cemetery in Manila
is an interesting place to visit at this time.
23
November: Feast
of San Clemente.
San Clemente is the patron saint of fishermen.
The grateful community of Angono in Rizal Province
turn out to offer thanks and take part in a boat
parade.
30
November: Bonifacio
Day.
Also called National Heroes' Day, ceremonies take
place all over the country to honour the birthday
of the revolutionary leader Andres Bonifacio.
November/December:
Grand
Canao.
This festival is a celebration of the cultures
of the ethnic minorities of Baguio in northern
Luzon. There are opportunities to see tribal rituals
and dances and to observe animal sacrifices.
December
8
December: Feast
of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception.
Held in may cities througout the Philippines.
The boat procession held at night on Malabon River
and Manila Bay is particulary worth seeing.
16-24
December: Simbang
Gabi.
The official start of Christmas in the Philippines
with many people attending simbang gabi (night
masses).
24
December: Giant
Lantern Festival.
A charming lantern parade and contest held in
San Fernando, Pampanga Province. The winning lantern
is displayed after midnight mass.
25
December: Christmas.
A family day, much the same as it is in other
Christian countries, a movable feast of food and
drink and merriment. Childre go from one relative
to another receiving blessings and gifts.
28
December: Holy
Innocents' Day.
Just the same as April Fools' Day in the West.
Filipinos enjoy playing practical jokes on the
unsuspecting.
30
December: Rizal
Day.
Annual commemoration of the day on which the Filipino
national hero, Jose Rizal, was executed by the
Spanish.
31
December: New
Year's Eve.
All the usual party-going, food, drink and bombast
associated with these last hours of the year.
At the Binalbal Festival of Tudela in Misamis
Occidental, people dressed up as witches and ghosts
take to the streets in a parade designed to banish
evil spirits.
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