Ati-atihan Festival and History

They look like

warriors of
centuries ago in a
festive mood, in
celebration of an
occasion. They fill
the streets of
Kalibo, Aklan, they
sound up the
drums and it is
only once a year.
Yes, it is the Ati-
atihan festival.

Currently
celebrated in honor of
the Sto. Nino, the Ati-atihan festival is very lively, colorful and it is a week
long fiesta! The blackened dancers attract tourists from all over the world
and when the festivities are done, these tourists hit the beach on the white
sands of a nearby island called Boracay for more parties.

Ati-atihan means "to be like aetas"or "make belive ati's." Aetas were the
primary settlers in the islands according to history books. They too are the
earliest settlers of Panay Island where the province of Aklan rests. According
to accepted origin of the festival, in the 13th century, 10 datus from Borneo
escaping a tyrant Sultan Makatunaw, came upon the island after sailing with
their slaves, warriors, families and properties aboard "balangays." Headed by
Datu Puti, Makatunaw's chief minister, they sailed for days guided by the
stars in unchartered waters. Upon arrival, the Datu made a trade with the
natives and bought the plains for a golden salakot, brass basins and bales of
cloth. For the wife of the Ati chieftain, they gave a very long necklace.
Feasting and festivities followed soon after.

It was a pact to be celebrated. A pact between two races and cultures. In

effort to show appreciation to the kindness and hospitality of the Aetas, the
Malays smeared themselves with soot from their cooking utensils. Thus the
first Ati-atihan started.

Upon the colonization of the islands, the baptism of a huge number of the
natives to Roman Catholicism was celebrated and the drums were sounded.
Coinciding with the Ati-atihan of old, it became a combined celebration.

The Ati-atihan festival, the mother of all festivals in the Philippines, the origin
of pinoy festivities. When there was just farming and warfare on other
islands, there was partying on Aklan. For the past 800 years more or less, it
has been a tradition. It will be carried on for generations to come, it will be
our original, local Mardi Gras.

Panagbenga Festival History

It was in 1995 when
lawyer Damaso
Bangaoet, Jr. (then John
Hay Management
Corporation (JHMC)
Managing Director)
initially conceptualized
a festival that features
the abundant flowers
found in Baguio City. Upon
hearing the flower festival
proposal, Bases Conversion
Development Authority
(BCDA) Chairman Victor A.
Lim and JHMC President
Rogelio L. Singson
immediately approved the project. At
that time, the festival seemed to be a reasonably-sized project to help the
city bounce back after the severe damage caused by the 1990 Luzon
earthquake.
JHMC, formerly known as John Hay Poro Point Development Corporation
(JPDC), took the initiative to coordinate with the different sectors of the
community to build the identity of the festival. Consequently, the Baguio
Flower Festival (BFF) Secretariat headed by Mr. Bangaoet was created. With
the help of various flower enthusiasts, JHMC staff, and BFF volunteers, the
Baguio Flower Festival was finally honed into a celebration of history and
culture of Baguio City and the Cordilleras. The official logo, a spray of
sunflowers, was a winning masterpiece of a student from Baguio City
National High School named Trisha Tibagin who joined the Annual Camp John
Hay Art Contest. Later, Professor Macario Fronda of Saint Louis University
came up with an original composition of the Festival hymn which
accompanied the traditional Ibaloi dance of celebration the Bendian dance.
In 1996, the flower festival adopted the local Kankanaey name Panagbenga
which literally means a season of blossoming, a time for flowering coined
by archivist and curator Ike Picpican. The first flower festival week in Baguio
City happened from February 9-18, 1996 upon the approval of Resolution
007-1996. Since then, the flower fest became one of Baguio Citys main
attractions that reportedly draws thousands of visitors. The Department of
Tourism saw a significant upsurge of tourist arrivals every year that reached
millions of both local and international visitors coming to see the famous
floral floats and street-dancing parade.
Consequently, the formerly week-long festivity became a Panagbenga Month
when Resolution 033-2001 was approved in 2001. In July 2002, the Baguio
Flower Festival Foundation, Inc. (BFFFI) was created. It was decided over the
City Council resolution that the mayor in office would head the organizing
body of the flower festival. During that time, issues arose regarding the
accountability for festivities expenditures. When Braulio Yaranon won the
mayoral seat in 2004, he founded the Baguio Flower Festival Association
(BFFA) and took charge of the festival. Both of these organizations then
became organizers of the festival at the same time.
Sinulog Festival History

SINULOG is a dance ritual in honor of the miraculous image of the Santo

Nino. The dance moves to the sound of the drums and this resembles the
current (Sulog) of what was then known as Cebus Pahina River. Thus, in
Cebuano, they say its Sinulog.
Historical accounts say that before Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan
came to Cebu on April 7, 1521 to plant the cross on its shore and claim the
country for the King of Spain, Sinulog was already danced by the natives in
honor of their wooden idols and anitos. Then Magellan came and introduced
Christianity. He gave the Santo Nino (image of the Child Jesus) as baptismal
gift to Hara Amihan, wife of Cebus Rajah Humabon who was later named
Queen Juana. At that time, not only the rulers were baptized but also about
800 of their subjects. Unfortunately, however, shortly after the conversion,
Magellan went into a reckless adventure by fighting the reigning ruler of
Mactan, Rajah Lapulapu, with only a handful of men. He died in the
encounter. That was on April 27, 1521. The remnants of Magellans men were
however able to return to Spain to report the incident and the possibility of
conquest. It took 44 years before a new group came and started the formal
Christianization of the islands. Miguel Lopez de Legaspi arrived in Cebu on
April 28, 1565. His ships bombarded the village and in one of the burning
huts, one of his soldiers named Juan Camus found inside a wooden box the
image of the Santo Nino lying side by side with native idols. Historians now
say that during the 44 years between the coming of Magellan and Legaspi,
the natives continued to dance the Sinulog. This time however, they danced
it no longer to worship their native idols but a sign of reverence to the Santo
Nino which is now enshrined at the San Agustin Church ( renamed Basilica
Minore del Santo Nino). Of course, through the years since 1521, the dance
was a small ritual danced by a few in front of wooden idols or before the
Santo Nino. In fact, at the Santo Nino Church where the image is
consecrated, only the candle vendors could be seen dancing the Sinulog and
making offerings. During the Santo Nino fiesta which falls on the third
Sunday of January, children dressed moro-moro costumes also dance the
Sinulog. This was really no big event for Cebu City.
Masskara Festibal History

The history of MassKara Festival began in 1980 when the villagers in Bacolod
were suffering an economic crisis. The main livelihood of people in Bacolod
then was sugar cane farming. At that time, the price of sugar was at an all-
time low due to the invention of sugar substitutes like fructose corn syrup in
the United States. In addition to the crisis economy, many people in Bacolod
lost their families when MV Don Juan sank that same year. About 700
Filipinos, including Bacolod villagers perished in that tragedy. In order to
resist the sorrow, the local government together with the villagers held a
festival of smiles in the hope that the city could always be tough and survive
even the hardest moments in life. The name MassKara Festival is taken from
the words mass' which means crowd, and kara' which means for face, so
MassKara means crowded for face or masks for many faces. MassKara was
conceived by the Art Association of Bacolod (AAB), the intention of which
was to creatively organize a street dance parade thus getting away from a
"meaningless" civic-military parade. It was also meant to hide the tears and
sorrows brought about by the sugar crisis and the MV Don Juan sea mishap.
People celebrate the MassKara Festival by wearing smiling-faced masks,
colorful costumes, and unique accessories, while parading and dancing on
the streets of Bacolod. This festival contains a message about being happy
despite being in the toughest state of life. Every October, the streets of
Bacolod City, Negros Occidental become a sight of merriment. There are
many dancers dancing their hearts away and all wearing mask and people
from all walks of life troop to the streets to see colorfully-masked dancers
dance their heart away to the infectious rhythm of the Latin musical beat in a
stunning display of mastery, gaiety, coordination and stamina. This is what
they called the "MassKara Festival".
Kadayawan Festival History

This ritual serves as their thanksgiving to the gods particularly to the "Manama"
(the Supreme Being) and Bulan (a moon deity) that the first gathering was on a
night of a full moon, It was said that, long time ago, Ancient Visayans and Davao's
ethnic tribes residing at the foot of Mount Apo would converge during a bountiful
harvest and had to celebrate the full moon because they believed "the diwata came
to earth at that time" so did the other islanders and tribesmen. The full moon was
greeted with a variety of names- 'paghipono', 'takdul', 'ugsar'- but most significantly
as "dayaw" [at present it is kadayaw in some Bisayan Islands], perfect or
praiseworthy, fit recognition of its spectacular shape and sunset-to-sunrise
brilliance. It was so beautiful that the pre-colonial people praised and believed it
was the reason for their bountiful harvest Various farming implements, fruits,
flowers, vegetables, rice and corn grains were displayed on mats as villagers give
their respect and thanks for the year's abundance. Singing, dancing and offerings to
their divine protectors are the highlights of this ritual. Although times have
changed, this practice of thanksgiving or "pahinungod" is still very much practiced
by modern-day Davaoeos. This tradition flourished and evolved into an annual
festival of thanksgiving. In the 1970s, Mayor Elias B. Lopez, a Bagobo, initiated
tribal festivals featuring the Lumad and the Muslim tribes of Davao City where they
showcase their dances and rituals of thanksgiving. Later in 1986, a program called
"Unlad Proyekto Davao" was initiated by the government which was aimed to unite
the Dabawenyos after the turbulent Martial Law era. At that time, the festival was
called "Apo Duwaling," a name created from the famous icons of Davao: Mt. Apo,
the country's highest peak; Durian, the king of fruits; and Waling-waling, the queen
of orchids. "Apo Duwaling" was meant to showcase the city as a peaceful
destination to visit and to do business after 1986 EDSA Revolution. Finally in 1988,
City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte renamed the festival as "Kadayawan sa Dabaw" to
celebrate the bountiful harvest of Davao's flowers, fruits and other produce as well
as the wealth of the city's cultures. To this day, the festival continues to honor the
city's richness and diverse artistic, cultural and historical heritage in a grand
celebration of thanksgiving for all of Davao City's blessings.
Bangus Festival
Bangus Festival is an annual festivity in Dagupan City, Pangasinan that kicks
off every month of April. It celebrates the province's Bonuan bangus, which is
renowned for its unique taste.

Bangus Festival, first celebrated in 2002, was the brainchild of former mayor
Benjamin S. Lim, who wished to emphasize the local bangus industry and
promote Dagupan as the Bangus Capital of the World. Initially a part of the
thanksgiving festival Pista'y Dayat, Bangus Festival developed into a two-
week socio-economic program of activities that highlights the city's top
produce.
The festival commences with the lighting of 1,000 barbecue grills lined up to
cook thousands of bangus, which stretches up to two kilometers. This also
serves as a competition for hundreds of cooks, whose dishes are not only
judged by the grilling but through whipping up the tastiest and most creative
way of serving bangus. The contest was eventually called '101 Ways to
Cook Bangus and won for the city a recognition in the Guinness Book of
World Records for the longest barbecue in 2003.
Aside from the grilling challenge, the festivity showcases a bangus eating
contest, a search for the biggest and heaviest bangus, the Gilon-gilon
dancing festival, the Pigar-pigar festival, the Halo-halo festival, and the
Bangusan street party, where several local and Manila-based bands perform
along Jose R. De Venecia Expressway Extension.

Giant Lantern Festival

The Giant Lantern Festival (Kapampangan: Ligligan Parul)

is an annual festival held in December (Saturday before
Christmas Eve) in the City of San Fernando in the
Philippines. The festival features a competition of giant
lanterns. Because of the popularity of the festival, the
city has been nicknamed the "Christmas
Capital of the Philippines".

The San Fernando lantern

industry evolved from the Giant
Lantern Festival of San
Fernando. The festival, which is
held every December, finds its
roots in Bacolor where a much
simpler activity was held.
Following the transfer of the provincial
capital from Bacolor to San Fernando in August
1904, this lantern event followed as well. "Ligligan
Parol" was said to have started in San Fernando in 1904. But some say that the "Ligligan
Parol" did not happen immediately after the transfer and in fact began in 1908.This
predecessor of the modern day Giant Lantern Festival was actually a religious activity which
we know today as lubenas. The lanterns measured just two feet in diameter, a far cry from
the fifteen feet that we see today. These were created in each barrio from bamboo and other
locally available materials. During the nine-day novena before Christmas, which coincided
with the simbang gabi from December 16 to 24, these paruls were brought around each
barrio in procession to their visita. Before the midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, the lanterns
were brought to the town church together with the barrio patrons. This tradition gradually
evolved as the lanterns became bigger and the designs more intricate. Later, one big lantern
was made for each barrio, which was created through a cooperative effort. Each resident
contributed to its construction, from the concept and design, to the materials and labor. In
the end, these lanterns became a symbol of unity for the barrios.It was in 1931 that
electricity was introduced to the San Fernando lantern, thus sparking the birth of the first
Giant Lantern Festival. The added illusion of dancing lights highlighted the bright colors and
intricate designs of these Giant Lanterns. At this time, the lights were controlled by
individual switches that were turned on and off following the beat of the music. The
barangays of Del Pilar, Sta. Lucia and San Jose were among the first barangays to participate
in the festival: The Story behind the Giant Lanterns of the City of San Fernando,
Pampanga.The first lantern festival was held to honor President Manuel L. Quezon. At that
time, Quezon made Arayat his rest area and converted Mount Arayat into a tourist resort. As
a show of gratitude to Quezon, the people of San Fernando held a Christmas lantern contest
to honor the first family. Quezon himself donated the prize for his lantern contest, which was
personally awarded to the winner by First Lady Aurora Aragon Quezon.[1]It was only
cancelled in 1972, 1973 and 1974 when the country declared Martial Law. In the years that
followed, more innovations were introduced to the giant lanterns. Colored plastics replaced
traditional papel de hapon. The use of colored plastics will continue on until 2010, wherein
fiberglass and handmade paper will make their first appearances on the lanterns.[Large
steel barrels called rotors also substituted the hand-controlled switches to manipulate the
lights. And lanterns have grown in size, approximately 20-feet today, and illuminated by
about 3,500 to 5,000 light bulbs.In 1990, the venue was moved to Paskuhan Village. In 2000,
the venue was moved again to SM City Pampanga until 2007. In 2008, until now, the venue
is now at Robinsons Starmills. In 2011, Brgy. Calulut and Brgy. Del Carmen joined the
competition for the first time. In 2015, Brgy's. Sindalan and Pandaras, also joined the
competition for the first time.Last December 17, 2016, in the first time in history, Brgy.
Dolores was the first grand slam champion after they won in three competitive years last
2014, 2015 & 2016. This year's 1st & 2nd runner-up are Brgy. Calulut and Brgy. Sindalan.