Philippines

This particular festival is held in the month of January to pay regards to Santo Niño. It is a traditional festival with a religious purpose. The process of celebration goes on for a week and sometimes evens more. It is generally held on the third Sunday of the month especially in the province of Aklan. It is vivacious fiesta where the populace paints their faces and engages in wild street dance and more such fun filled activity. Besides dancing, merry making, there also occur feasts, where cakes and ales overflow. The main attraction of the celebration is the music. The beats of the drums, and the tinkling of metals on bottles add an amazingly out of the world mood to the jovial spirit of the people. Drums and masks are the most vital part of the Filipino festivals.

During Ati-Atihan, the entire town seems to come together and celebrate together. Several groups from several part of the province accumulate together and get ready for the joy. It is like a fun galore. Even watching the people dance to the traditional tunes wearing headgears and unique dress is an awe inspiring moment. Costumes are indeed one of the most amazing attractions in the Filipino festival. Shells, feathers, bamboos are made into dresses and worn with adorable care and comfort. Bamboo torches light up the entire province and the picture of Santo Niño mesmerizes the entire environment. Various contests and fun games are carried out at this particular occasion. So much is the frenzy regarding the festival that people are not ready to dampen the mood due to any occurrence. It is said that even calamites like heavy downpour or storm will not be able to spoil the mood of festivity. Undeniably this is the right time to come to the Philippines and if you want to have a taste of its flavor, Filipino festival is the right choice for you.

The variety of entertainment that is available in this fest goes beyond any explanation. It is full-fledged entertainment and includes “Poreotics” and “We Are Heroes”, the two most popular Dance Crew Winners. Leaving aside the fun part of these Filipino fests, the event is a complete upheaval from the Filipino people living in America. Philippines are known for its culture and the revelry that they share. The innate qualities reflect in the amazing performances that they showcase in order to keep the culture alive among the Filipino nationals.

Again, there is a Filipino festival community which is about 5 years old now. They promote the values and the richness of the Philippines culture and try to keep it alive through various shows and entertainments. They promote the heritage of the culture. The cross culture is definitely there as the American culture influences any culture that grows within it. Despite all the influences the ingredients of this Filipino Fests are the amazing, lip-smacking cuisine, music along with folk dances and much more. You do not need to leave Virginia to understand the Philippines culture. You can easily experience that entire thing here in this country.

You would be surprised to see over 600 people volunteering for the event. The demographic is huge and various people work through just in order to have fun. They preparation begins nine months prior to the event talking place. Over 100 young people practice and learn to showcase the talent in the Festival. You would be able to distinguish this from any other trial because here there is a cultural immersion that provides bi-weekly classes and training in order to make the learners proficient in the culture, the stories, the parental language and much more. This cultural fest earns a good amount of money which is again used in order to uplift the culture and various bodies like the OLL Food Pantry, Laura's Closet and Lamb's Basket that serve the community. The best part is that this year they are saving in order to send a part of their earning to the Haiti victims.

Frankly, Philippines stand to be one of the top most tourist destinations of the world currently. Moreover, the place is such an activity-filled festive land where you can never get bored with the things. Philippines have lash green mountains, sparkling white sandy beaches, funfilled wave dancing and a dense wildlife. In short, it can be a perfect holidays for every one irrespective of age.

When talking about Filipino travel, it would be a gross injustice not to mention about the wide range of Filipino festival that is integral part of the Filipino culture over all.  In fact, millions of people come to visit the country smelling the flavor of the festivals solely. Therefore, Filipino festival is one of the great reasons why people love this country so much. If you are planning to visit the country during such a festival, it would be better to book hotels from earlier. Philippines observe highest tourist gatherings at times of festival although having a sufficient amount of visitors rest of the time too.

As Filipino festival is one of the great reasons for being popular as a tourist destination, let us explore some of the most gorgeous celebrations of the country. While talking about Filipino festival, everyone would tell you about the Sinulog festival at the onset. It is one of the most traditional as well as religious festivals of the country. Sinulog festival is also a form of thanksgiving ceremony in Philippines. The celebration continues for nine consecutive days and observes various types of colorful street-shows and demonstrations. It generally takes place at Cebu Island of the country. Another big one is Panagbenga festival taking place in Baguio Island, the summer capital of the country. The festival is celebrated in the month of February and it is a splendid month-long flower festival. Some experts consider it is a simile of Rose Parade in Pasadena, California.  To name some other significant celebrations, Pahiyas and Moriones festivals observe huge crowd from different corners of the country and the planet.

Now there are some interesting facts why you should choose Philippines as a favorite holiday destination. First, it offers a very reasonable vacation with minimum expenditure and optimum luxury. You can easily compare the cost with a western vacation. And after all, you enjoy all that fun and frolic that you can have from the Western vacations. Filipino people as said earlier are hospitable enough and can make your travel more interesting and easy enough.

The best part about the Filipino festival is that most of the celebrations are the expression of Filipino life. They beautifully give a picture of Filipino culture, society, legends and history by dint of their joyous carnivals. People all over the world are quite enthusiastic about these celebrations and further the festivals have become a great source of revenue earning for the Filipino nationals.

To start with a brief description of the Filipino celebrations, everyone should mention about the Panagbenga Festival of Philippines. Hotels overflow with tourists during this festival at Philippines. The bounty of nature and color are wonderfully portrayed in the country this time. It is mainly celebrated at Baguio in Philippines. You would find the milieu as a colorful canvas in the most popular flower festival on earth. The city bounces with vibrant participants with floral dress and make ups.  It is also a form of thanksgiving ceremony in Baguio.

Another popular celebration widely notable in the Filipino festival is Sinulog festival in Cebu.  Sinulog festival at Cebu is the biggest form of celebration in Philippines. It is a grand celebration with colors and traditions that are integral parts of the country. Sinulog continues for nine consecutive days and Cebu rides on a festive journey this time. The days and evenings are full of eventful programs comprising songs, dance festivals, theatres, drama, exhibitions, food festival and so on. People put on colorful dress and participate in the occasion with full vigor and enthusiasm. Sinulog is one of the most traditional religious festivals of the Philippines and witness highest amount of tourist gathering during this time.

Another popular tourist attracting religious festival here is Centurion festival of Pinamalayan. This festival is one of the oldest celebrations of the country and celebrated by all and sundry living in Oriental Mindoro. This one is also a week celebration and commences on the arrival of the holy week in Philippines. Smile festival at Bacoleno is also celebrated every year to encourage and boost up the troubled citizens of the state. This festival is also popular as Masskara festival in Philippines.

]]> http://pinoyfest.com/glimpse-of-filipino-festival/feed/ 0 http://pinoyfest.com/fiesta-in-philippines/ http://pinoyfest.com/fiesta-in-philippines/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:33:06 +0000 admin http://pinoyfest.com/?p=18 Philippines are a nation that believes in its variety of traditions, conventions and cultures. The Filipino people are very warm, spirited and most importantly fun loving. Thus it is nothing unnatural that the populace of the nation celebrates events all round the year. Every month has at least eight to nine occasions to rejoice and have a gala time. The most amazing fact is that each city or even the smallest of small locales have their own festival. Whatever may be the economic condition of the country nothing can actually dampen the spirit of the folks. They are always game for carnivals and fests. Thus we can safely say that the spirit of the nation is very colorful, energetic, cheerful and jovial. And it is not unnatural that this vibrant nation will attract a lot of attention from tourists or any people all over the globe. Thus the Filipino festivals are not just adding to the amusement factor but also including more funds to the revenue of the country. Filipino festivals are indeed great means to make your lives more exciting and add money to the country’s pocket. The recent records show that all through the year 127 major and minor festivals are celebrated. It is indeed very gala over there.

Some of the major celebrations that are observe in the nation are Sinulog, Panagbenga, Ati-atihan, Dinagyang,sibug sibug, Kamulan, Moriones Pahiyas and many such. Even Christmas and Easter are observed with full vigor and vibe. It is said that the Christmas celebrations starts from the 2^nd week of December in that country. The celebrations include lively party with loud music, amazing make up and costumes, dance and feast. It seems that the whole population wants to break free from all monotony and normal routine with the merriment. All and sundry participates in the festivals and the town dresses up according to the mood. The normal problems and anxieties regarding the daily existence are all washed away with the colorful street dance that is an important part of all the fiestas. Be it the Sinulog, where child Jesus is respected with Thanksgiving, or the flower festival namely Panagbenga , or any other celebration, every occasion comes with their own color. While it is the sound of trumpets, gongs and drums that rule the Sinulog festival, a wide array of colorful flowers are the defining factor during Panagbenga. But Moriones can be considered to be the most vivacious of all the fests. Masks and garbs add a different level of charm to the occasion. Ati atihan is supposedly the biggest time to enjoy yourself, if you are in the Philippines. The entire process of celebration is like a theatrical performance. Thus if you want to liven up your life, Filipino festivals are the right way to add zing to your life.