Day: July 15, 2014

Filipinos love fiestas. It is a special time with friends, a time for fellowship, food and lots of activities. Villagers will always return home even if they are living or working elsewhere. Each year brings numerous fiestas. Sometimes people are busy for weeks preparing for them. Those facing many problems in their day-to-day life set them aside and participate in the festivities. Relatives, friends and strangers that attend are welcomed into homes to eat and even stay overnight. Most often people borrow money that becomes a heavy burden to pay off throughout the year just to beautify their simple homes and prepare food.
The fiesta is of Spanish origin. Spain, being a Roman Catholic country, set aside certain days to remember particular saints with processions and celebrations. When Spanish missionaries entered the Philippines during the mid-1500s, they found that the fiesta was a convenient tool to help teach Filipinos the Roman Catholic faith.
When the Spaniards came, many communities were given names of saints. Nearly all towns have a patron saint to remember. Town fiestas have many faces. They usually feature a mass and a procession. Long after the religious ritual is completed, people eat, drink and enjoy the rest of the day. (more…)