Sinulog Festival is a religious festival which is held in honor of Sto Nino. This is a joyous festival which features a very long parade of people wearing colorful costumes as they dance to the beat of the drums, trumpets and native gongs.
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Sinulog Festival 2015
Sinulog Festival is an annual festival which is held in Cebu City on the third Sunday of January. For 2015, the Sinulog Festival is expected to be held on January 18 (Sunday).
Cebu City will be celebrating Sinulog Festival’s 21st Year so expect a grand parade matched with unique and flashy costumes next year.
Highlight – Festival Sinulog
The Sinulog Festival usually lasts for a period of nine days, making the Grand Parade as its final event. A day before the parade, a Fluvial Procession carrying the statue of Sto Nino is held at dawn. This procession starts from Mandaue City to Cebu City which specifically ends at the Basilica where the re-enactment of the Christianizing of Cebu is performed.
What is Sinulog Festival
Sinulog Festival is a religious festival which is held in honor of Sto Nino (the image of child Jesus). Sinulog features a dance ritual where the residents of Cebu comes alive and groove to the beat of the drums as they resemble the movement of the Pahina River.
Who is Sto Nino?
Sto Nino is the child image of Jesus Christ. A few festivals in the Philippines are held in honor of Sto Nino. Some of which are Ati-atihan Festival, Dinagyang Festival, Sinulog Festival etc.
Main Attractions – Sinulog Festival
Sinulog Street Dancing
People of Cebu and the rest of the country awaits the third Sunday of January as Cebu comes alive and party along the streets wearing unique and vibrant costumes and dance in honor of the Sto Nino.
Dancing to the beat of the drums, trumpets and native gongs, the natives of Cebu stomp their feet as they perform the Sinulog Dance – a dance ritual which consists of 2 steps forward and one step back movement and imitate the movements of the Pahina River.
Sinulog Festival History
The Sinulog was already danced by the locals in honor of their wooden statues during the pre-colonial period. Later on, the image of Sto Nino was introduced by the Spaniards and was brought to Cebu. Residents of Cebu were baptized and Catholic faith was established in the region.
In 1980, the first Sinulog parade was organized by David S. Odilao Jr. He gathered a group of students dressed them up and taught them how to dance the Sinulog. It was actually a small parade but it captured the attention of Cebu City and gave them the idea of putting up a Sinulog Festival.
Interesting Information about Sinulog Festivals
The word Sinulog comes was derived from the Cebuano word “Sulog” which means like water current movement, which describes the two steps forward, one step backward movement of the Sinulog dance.
Recently, the festival has been promoted as a tourist attraction with a competition which features dancers from different parts of the country. The Sinulog competition is usually held in the Cebu City Sports Complex.
Smaller versions of the festival are held in different parts of the city. Here, they organize a “Sinulog sa Kabataan” (Sinulog for the Youth) which is performed by the young dancers of Cebu. This is performed a week before the grand parade.
Recommendations
Book your hotel early: The Sinulog festival has been popular among local tourists and foreigners alike. So, it is best to book your hotel accommodations early as they tend to be fully booked at least a month before the event takes place.
Bring your camera: Also, don’t forget to bring your camera as you will be seeing a lot of interesting performances and colorful costumes that you might not see elsewhere. Take advantage of the festival and make sure to take as much photos and souvenirs as you can.
Useful Information
Date: Sinulog Festival is an annual festival which is held on the third Sunday of January. For 2015, it will be held as expected on January 18 which is a Sunday.
Location: Cebu, City
Sinulog Festival 2016
The Sinulog Festival, as it always fall on the third Sunday of the month of January, it is expected to occur on the 17th day of January 2016.
How to get there
To get to the Sinulog Festival, you will need to book a plane ticket to Cebu. Estimated travel time from Manila to Cebu is 1.5 – 2 hours.
Fee: None
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