It summer time in the country and the suns heat was relatively high. I was planning to grab some times to go for a summer vacation, just like what I did last year. Together with my family, we went out of town for a planned vacation at a beach at the northern part of our province. We spent 3 days there at the house of my grandparents. It was located at the beach because I as have heard from my mother, grandma and grandpa own that beach. It was just a small area facing the beautiful view of a very wide ocean. Anyways, I hope we can go there again because I really love the place and even my father loves it too.

Talking so much about the feast happening in Cebu right-now, I asked my father about what is really the difference between the Feast of Sr. Santo Niño and the Sinulog Festival. I was a bit confused about these two celebrations religious cultural feast.

According to my father, the feast for Sr. Santo Niño is somehow having a bit difference with the Sinulog. At first these two celebrations doesn’t happen in a single day. Instead, it is a two days of festivity. The solemn celebration which happens first is for the feast in honor of Sr. Santo Niño. Then, at the second day which is usually Sunday, the Sinulog Festival takes place. He added that, if it is said to be a religious cultural feast, then the Feast for Sr. Santo Niño is the religious celebration and in some ways the Sinulog is a cultural activity.

Now, I am not that confused between the two and I conclude that these two celebrations relates to each other. Lacking any of the two will disarrange the thought and destroy the faithful beliefs of the devotees.

I thought only Filipino people knows about Sr. Santo Niño De Cebu. During this 30th anniversary of the having Sr. Santo Niño in Cebu, a lot of devotees came to visit and took their long ways from the places very far from these island. According to the news, there have been a lot of foreign people came to visit Cebu to witness the celebration and take part in the commemoration of the most precious gift that the Cebuano’s receive a very long time ago.

It was very wonderful to see those people visit our place. Off course many of our fellow Filipino people whose working or living in different countries came also to visit and take some vacation just to witness the celebration.

Devotees of the Sr. Santo Niño celebrate the 30th annual festival know as Sinulog. As I have stated earlier, the celebration of the feast for the patron of Cebu is a very fantastic and wonderful. But what should be the best reason to celebrate? Is it because of the wonderful attractions during the feast? Or because the people have been so blessed because of their devotions to the Sr. Santo Niño?

For many Cebuano’s, we celebrate both. We have the dancing and parade because it serves as the joyful celebration of the devotees and most important we have the Fluvial Parade at the Mactan Channel, The Mass, and the Procession of the Blessed Statue of Sr. Santo Niño on the street along with the faithful devotees. It is a very solemn procession since they do this together with the mass at the Santo Niño Church. The procession will start at the church following the routes and after a very long travel, it will be back to the church.

Midnight Mass or we call it as “Misa De Galeo” in our dialect is a nine-day Novena Mass. It is a part of our religious culture that has started so many years ago. The Mass starts at 4:30 in the morning but in the church in our place, the Mass starts at 4 because the half-hour time is intended for the presentation. About the presentation, it is in a way of drama, choral ensemble, or a song interpretation related to the theme of the church.

The church is always full of the parishioners who want to attend the Mass. However, most people who attend the Mass have a very special purpose of why they were there. It is a belief of many that when you completed the nine days of the Novena Mass, your prayers and the things that you ask to God will be granted.

So with that, I can really say that it depends on the seriousness and constant prayers that a person does. And also, God knows what we need and what’s best for us.