Philippine Festivals - December

Marian Procession
Date: December 8 Location: Intramuros, Manila
A revival of religious tradition with more than 60 images of the Blessed Virgin Mary from various parishes and provinces paraded.

Pagdidiwata
Date: December 8 Location: Puerto Princessa, Palawan
A thanks giving celebration by the Tagbanua natives of Palawan in ritual dances and food offerings to their deities and souls of departed kin

Feast of the Immaculate Concepcion
Date: December 8 Location: Intramuros, Manila
An Eucharistic celebrabration of the Feast Day of the La Immaculada, patroness of Intramuros, capped by a grand procession of more than 50 Marian images from all over the country and participated in by thousands of devotees.

Bikol Pastores
Date: December 18 Location: Legazpi City, Albay
A unique Christmas celebration believed to have originated in the province where "pastores" - young men and women dressed in colorful shepherd costumes - joyfully dance and sing "Pastores a Belen" through the city streets.

San Fernando Giant Lantern Festival
Date: December Location: Ermita, Manila
A fiesta in honor of one of the oldest Marian images in the country (it was found by Legazpi's soldiers amidst the foliage of a pandan shrub on the shores of Ermita in 1571) - the La Nuestra Señora de Guia, patroness of seafarers and also known as Our Lady of Expectations. The main event of the fiesta is the Bota de Flores, a reenactment of a select group of young ladies and their escorts in sailor costumes of the procession returning the La Nuestra Señora de Guia to its reconstructed shrine in 1918.

Binirayan Festival
Date: December 28-30 Location: San Jose, Antique
A festive commemoration of an episode in the history of the Filipino race through colorful pageants acted on the beaches of Maybato in San Jose and Malandog in Hamtik. Particularly interesting is the drama of the first Malay settlement at malandog which runs for several days and nights. Binirayan is also an occasion of reunion with families, relatives and friends of homecoming Antiqueno expatriates.