Santacruzan:
Celebration of Virtues

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

The month of May has always been associated as a time when people spend the last frolicking days of summer. Thus, most festivals are held in May, easily becoming one of the busiest months of the year. In Bohol, for instance, the first day of May signals the start of a month-long celebration of fiestas all over the province.

Throughout the Philippines, several feasts are celebrated to honor patron saints. Moreover, there are places that have abided by what tradition dictates, like the Pahiyas Festival of Lucban, Quezon where fruits and vegetables are used to adorn houses. In Pulilan, Bulacan, carabaos – a domestic animal – are revered through the Carabao Festival where carabaos are made to kneel before the church of San Isidro de Labrador, the patron saint of farmers.

In Negros Oriental, the municipalities of Ayungon, Vallehermoso, and Zamboanguita celebrate their town fiestas on the same day, May 15, aside from many other municipalities and barangays also celebrating their fiestas this month. True to Filipino tradition, fiestas are not only a celebration of good harvests, but of hard work as well, especially among farmers and fisherfolk.

In Dumaguete, the city government together with the City Tourism Office and the City Tourism Council, has deemed it fit to restore the glory and spirituality of the Santacruzan Festival as how people have come to know about its existence from the very beginning. For some reason, it was renamed Kabulakan Festival in 2007, and while the intention may have been good, it did not augur well with some sectors.

Today, we appreciate the wisdom of our leaders who have now synchronized the tourism activities of the city with religious events of the Church to celebrate the city’s cultural, historical, and religious heritage. To top it all, May is also National Heritage Month with activities being held in consonance with the Santacruzan, thus, not losing focus on the meaning of the celebration.

Truly, if we expect the youth to emulate the deeds of our leaders, it has to start with a celebration of virtues, something that everyone has to be reminded about in these cynical and jaded times.*