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One of the most celebrated religious icons in the Philippines is the Sto. Nino, or the image of the baby Jesus. And the Sinulog Festival in Cebu City dedicated to the image is undoubtedly one of the most famous Philippine festivals flocked by local and foreign tourists.

The main festival is held every year on the third Sunday of January, the child Jesus used to be the patron saint of the whole province of Cebu (since in the Catholic faith Jesus is not a saint, but God). The highlight is the street dance ritual, which remembers the Filipino people’s pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity.

The Sinulog festival features some the country’s most colorful displays of pomp and pageantry. Participants of the street dance are garbed in bright-colored costumes and sway to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are also held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niņo.

Sinulog’ comes from the Cebuano adverb sulog meaning “like water current movement,” which adeptly describes the forward-backward movement of the Sinulog dance. The dance consists of two steps forward and one step backward, done to the sound of the drums. The dance is categorized into Sinulog-base, Free-Interpretation, and recently a Latin Category amid protest from many who have argued that it had nothing to do with Sinulog tradition.

Candle vendors at the Basilica also perform the traditional version of the dance when lighting a candle for the customer, usually accompanied by songs in the native language.

Since Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet’s arrival to the country in 1521, devotion to the Santo Niņo has grown and has taken root in Filipino popular piety, particularly in the Visayan region. Pilgrims from different parts of Cebu and the rest of the Philippines make their yearly journey to the Basilica Minore del Santo Niņo to take part in the procession and fiesta. In 1980, the Cebu City government formally launched the Sinulog Mardi Gras and gave incentives to dance groups.

Similar festivals devoted to the Sto. Nino are also held in various parts of the Philippines. In Iloilo province they celebrate the Dinagyang festival at the same time with the Sinulog. In Malolos City, Bulacan the Sto. Nino Festival is held every last Sunday of January. And in Kalibo, Aklan the Ati-Atihan Festival is also observed in honor of Sto. Nino every third week of January.

Meanwhile, churches everywhere in the country hold special masses and processions in January for the Sto. Nino. But the Sinulog Festival in Cebu is the grandest celebration of them all.

Tags: Sinulog Festival, Cebu’s Sinulog, Cebu City