Merry Christmas!

 Christmas brings family and friends together. 

It helps us appreciate the love in our lives we often take for granted. 

May the true meaning of the holiday season fill your heart and home with many blessings.

May love, peace, happiness and contentment be with us all and may  our wishes come true!

MERRY CHRISTMAS 

AND A FABULOUS NEW YEAR 2015!

Sinulog Festival in Cebu

The Sinulog festival in Cebu is a famous celebration in this city. It is an annual festival held every third Sunday of January. It has become a tourists magnet which attracts visitors from all parts of the Philippines and even from the whole world. The festival features a street parade with participants in bright colored costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets and native gongs.

Here are some images taken during our visit last January 2010.

The Sinulog contest is always held in Cebu City Sports Complex

SINULOG TODAY:

Since 1521, devotion to the Santo Niño has grown and has taken root in Philippine popular piety, particularly in the Visayas; pilgrims from different parts of Cebu and the rest of the Philippines make their yearly journey to the church to take part in the procession and festival. Starting in 1980, the Cebu City government organized the Sinulog Mardi Gras and eventually gave incentives to tribal dance groups. The first Sinulog parade was held in 1980, organized by Dávid Odilao, then Regional Director of the Ministry of Sports, and Youth Development. The parade was composed of students dressed in Moro costumes, dancing the Sinulog to the beating of drums.

The idea caught and thus, under the direction of the Cebu City Mayor Florentino Solon with the help of several influential Cebuanos, Odilao turned over the Sinulog project to the Cebu City Historical Committee under Kagawad Jesus Garcia. It was the task of the Committee to conceptualize the Sinulog festival and make it into a yearly event from then on.

In 1981 the following year, the concept of the Sinulog Parade was actualized, involving practically every sector in the Cebuano community. Marking its difference from another popular festival, the Ati-Atihan in Aklan, the Sinulog focuses not on the ritual itself but on the historical aspects of the dance, which, as it has been said, represents the link the country's embrace of Christian faith.

The Sinulog dance steps were believed to originate from Rajah Humabon's adviser, Baladhay. It was during Humabon's grief when Baladhay was driven sick. He then ordered his native tribe to bring Baladhay into a chapel where the Santo Niño was enthroned. Moments later, surprisingly, Baldhay was heard shouting and was found dancing with outmost alertness. Baladhay was questioned as to whether why was he awake and was shouting. Baladhay explained that he found a small child, pointing to the image of the Santo Niño, on top of him and trying to wake him up. He, at great astonishment, scared the child away by shouting but couldn't explain why he was dancing the movements of the river. Up to this day, the two-steps forward, and the one-step backward movement dance is still used by the Santo Niño devotees believing that it was the Santo Niño's choice to have Baladhay dance. more Sinulog infos here

Merry Christmas!

Merry merry Christmas
and Happy and bountiful
New Year to all!

The merry family gatherings -
The old, the very young;
The strangely lovely way they
Harmonize in carols sung.
For Christmas is tradition time -
Traditions that recall
The precious memories down the years,
The sameness of them all.

Helen Lowrie Marshall

Happy Birthday Mother Mary

Happy Birthday Mother Mary!
Thanks for all the inspirations
you had given into my life
and to all people around the world.

TITLES OF MARY:

The name "Mary" comes from the Greek Μαρία, which is a shortened form of Μαριάμ. This is a transliteration of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Arabic name Maryam. During the Middle Ages Hebrew vowel systems were formed and the Hebrew vowel "a" changed (regularly) to "i" in a closed unaccented syllable, so that by the time the Jews began to use vowel points, they wrote it as Miryam. Mary's most common titles include The Blessed Virgin Mary (also abbreviated to "BVM"), Our Lady (Notre Dame, Nuestra Señora, Nossa Senhora, Madonna), Mother of God, and the Queen of Heaven (Regina Caeli). See Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Mary is referred to by the Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Anglican Church, and all Eastern Catholic Churches as Theotokos, a title recognized at the Third Ecumenical Council (held at Ephesus to address the teachings of Nestorius, in 431). Theotokos (and its Latin equivalents, "Deipara" and "Dei genetrix") literally means "Godbearer". The equivalent phrase "Mater Dei", (Mother of God) is more common in Latin and so also in the other languages used in the Western Catholic Church, but this same phrase in Greek (Μήτηρ Θεοῦ), in the abbreviated form of the first and last letter of the two words (ΜΡ ΘΥ), is the indication attached to her image in Byzantine icons. The Council stated that the Church Fathers "did not hesitate to speak of the holy Virgin as the Mother of God", so as to emphasize that Mary's child, Jesus Christ, is in fact God.

The title, Queen Mother, has been given to Mary since she was the mother of Jesus, who was sometimes referred to as the "King of Kings" due to His lineage of King David. The biblical basis for this understanding is found in 1 Kings 2:19–20, where King Solomon made his mother, Bathsheba, his queen mother present in his royal court. This governmental practice is also found throughout 1 and 2 Kings and in Jeremiah 13:18–19. In ancient Middle Eastern cultures, it was common for a king to have more than one wife; however, the king only had one mother and she was an integral part of each royal court.
more about Mary

Good Friday Saying and the Sky at St. Ullrich Church in Hohenfels

"When God’s children pass under the shadow of the cross of Calvary, they know that through that shadow lies their passage to the great white throne. For them Gethsemane is as paradise. God fills it with sacred presences; its solemn silence is broken by the music of tender promises, its awful darkness softened and brightened by the sunlight of Heavenly faces and the music of angel wings."

Frederic William Farrar

The Easter Egg decoration at St. Ullrich Church in Hohenfels, Germany. I took this picture last Tuesday.


Click the logos, feel free to join, share and watch the beauty of the skies from all over the world. Thanks to the Authors for hosting these beautiful memes! Have fun watching the faces of the skies!

Fireworks at Sinulog Festival in Cebu City, Philippines

The first day of March is almost over now. I hope that you are having a good one. Some might not have a good day, some might have a very inspiring day. The picture you see below was taken during the 2010 Sinulog Festival in Cebu City. I had witnessed this biggest celebration in Cebu twice in my life. I wish to share more pictures of Sinulog next time.
Feel free to visit Ruby Tuesday,Wordless Wednesday and Mellow Yellow Monday to see more photos! Have a great one especially to all participants of these memes! Thanks to respective Authors for hosting these wonderful memes!

Easter Greetings To One and All!

Have a blessed and memorable Easter To All!

The stars shall fade away, the sun himself
Grow dim with age, and Nature sink in years;
But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth,
Unhurt amid the war of elements,
The wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds.
~Joseph Addison

Celebration of the Holy Thursday

Do you know what day today is? For Christians especially for Catholics today is the celebration of the Holy Thursday or the so-called Maundy Thursday. I could still remember our practices back home that during this day, we usually go to the Church to attend a Mass celebration for today. Sad to say, I haven't done it in Germany now. I'm so sorry for that...anyway to give you some info about Holy Thursday, I consulted the experts on the web. Have a blessed Lenten Season to all!

What is Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday?

Maundy Thursday (also known as Holy Thursday or Great and Holy Thursday), is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. It is the fifth day of Holy Week, and is preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday. In 2009, Maundy Thursday will occur on April 9 for Western Christian traditions including Roman Catholicism and on April 16th for Eastern Christian traditions including most Orthodox Churches.

On this day four events are commemorated: the washing of the Disciples' Feet by Jesus Christ, the institution of the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper, the agony of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot. read more here

Holy Week from Monday To Wednesday!

I guess most Christians especially the Catholics are aware of what we celebrate this week. To give you some info about, continue reading below. Have a blessed Holy week to all!

Monday to Wednesday

The days between Palm Sunday and Maundy Thursday are known as Holy Monday (or Fig Monday), Holy Tuesday and Holy Wednesday (sometimes called Spy Wednesday). The Gospels of these days recount events not all of which occurred on the corresponding days between Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his Last Supper. For instance, the Monday Gospel tells of the Anointing of Bethany (John 12:1-9), which occurred before the Palm Sunday event described in John 12:12-19.

The Chrism Mass, whose texts the Roman Missal now gives under Holy Thursday, may be brought forward to one of these days, to facilitate participation by as many as possible of the clergy of the diocese together with the bishop. This Mass was not included in editions of the Roman Missal before the time of Pope Pius XII. In this Mass the bishop blesses separate oils for the sick (used in Anointing of the Sick) for catechumens (used in Baptism) and chrism (used in Baptism, but especially in Confirmation and Holy Orders, as well as in rites such as the blessing of an altar and a church). please read more here

History of St. Patrick's Day!

I just posted in my other blog some information about St. Patrick's Day. For those who are celebrating this memorable day especially for Irish people and other people around the world, enjoy the celebration. I am just sharing a bit history about St. Patrick.

HISTORY OF ST. PATRICK'S DAY

In the past, Saint Patrick's Day was celebrated as a religious holiday. It became a public holiday in 1903, by the Money Bank. (Ireland) Act 1903, an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by the Irish MP James O'Mara. O'Mara later introduced the law which required that pubs be closed on 17 March, a provision which was repealed only in the 1970s. The first St. Patrick's Day parade held in the Irish Free State was held in Dublin in 1931 and was reviewed by the then Minister of Defence Desmond Fitzgerald. Although secular celebrations now exist, the holiday remains a religious observance in Ireland, for both the Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic Church.

It was only in the mid-1990s that the Irish government began a campaign to use Saint Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture. The government set up a group called St. Patrick's Festival, with the aim to:

—Offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world and promote excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity.
—Provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent, (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations.
—Project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal, as we approach the new millennium.

Sinulog festival in Cebu

Today is the Sinulog celebration in Cebu City, Philippines. It is considered to be one of the grandest and famous festival in the Philippines. It is also known worldwide being visited by tourists coming from the different parts of the world. Above is a very lovely and colorful photo of Sinulog festival participants. How I wish to have a vacation in teh next Sinulog. Below is an info about Sinulog from Wikipedia.

The Sinulog is an annual festival held on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, Philippines. The festival honors the child Jesus, known as the Santo Niño (Holy Child), patron of the city of Cebu. It is a dance ritual that commemorates the Cebuano people's pagan origin, and their acceptance of Christianity.

The festival features a street parade with participants in bright-colored costumes dancing to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. Smaller versions of the festival are held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate, and honor the Santo Niño. There is also a "Sinulog sa Kabataan", performed by the youths of Cebu a week before the grand parade.

Recently, the festival has been promoted as a tourist attraction, with a contest featuring contingents from various parts of the country. The Sinulog Contest is usually held in the Cebu City Sports Complex.