What is a Sinulog Festival?

It’s new year, It’s January, It’s Sinulog Festival Time again. Every year Cebu City and Maasin City Sauthern Leyte Philippines celebrate the Sinulog Festival which is held every third Sunday of January. They said, the Sinulog started during the Spaniards time. 

Sinulog Festival (Cebu City | Mandaue City | Photo: Everythingcebu

Sinulog Festival is one of the distinguished festivals in the Philippines and recently it was promoted as a tourist attraction. It commemorates the Bisayan People’s pagan origin and their acceptance of Roman Catholicism and to honor the Santo Nino who used to be the patron saint of the whole province of Cebu. Participants are gathered in street parade wearing colorful costumes while dancing to the rhythm of drums and trumpets. 

The festival celebration usually lasts for 9 days and on the final day of the festival is the Sinulog Grand Parade. A day before the Grand Parade is a Fluvial Procession of the Santo Nino which is carried by pump boat starting from Mandaue City to Cebu City that ends at the Basilica where a re-enactment of the Christianizing (that is, the acceptance of Roman Catholicism) of Cebu is performed., the usual time of procession is held at dawn.

Many foreign and local visitors loved to watch the festival because of its grandest beauty that’s why during the parade thousands of people are meeting at the streets to celebrate this annual tradition. 

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