- STO. NIÑO
The Sto. Niño is part of Philippine history, said writer Nick Joaquin in a 1980 paper delivered before Cebuanos.
It is such a symbol of Philippine history “because it came with Magellan, became a native pagan idol, was reestablished as a Christian icon by Legazpi, and has become so Filipino that native legends annul its European origin by declaring it to have arisen in this land and to have been of this land since time immemorial.
In 1521, the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan discovered the Zubu Island for Spain and gifted the Image of Santo Niño to the island queen, Joanna. On his death at the hands of Lapulapu’s Mactan warriors, his men fled back to Spain, leaving the image behind. In its new environment, among sun-loving people, the image stopped to be a Christian symbol. After some vain efforts on the part of the natives to destroy it, as legends say, it endured its new setting and prevailed to become a pagan idol.
Writer Joaquin talked about these years after the Magellan men left and before the next Spanish expedition came under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi – all 44 unaccounted years. Joaquin said that “during that strange interlude… the wondrous miracle happened: we accepted the Santo Niño as part of our land, part of our culture, part of our history. During those 44 years when the Cross had vanished from our land, the Sto. Niño kept us faithful to him”.
In those unaccounted years, the Image became part of Cebuano life. And this is probably why when asked about the Image, as it was found in 1565 by the Legazpi expedition in one of the village houses, the natives refused to relate it to the gift of Magellan. They said it was there at the beginning, since ancient times.
Writer Dr. Resil Mojares, also in a1980 paper, said that the claim of the 1565 Cebuanos that the Image was native and ancient in the land was probably because they were afraid to admit that it was a Spanish property or else it would be taken away from them.
The natives’ version of the origin of the Santo Niño is in the “Agipo” (stump or driftwood) legend about magical driftwood caught in the fishhook of an ancient native fisherman. Everytime he throw it away, it reappeared until decided to keep it. Then, oi! The fish catch became so plentiful for the fisherman that day. The agipo, brought to the settlement, would later manifest its powers to the people – guard the people’s harvest, protect them from pestilence.
Thus, the unaccounted 44 years of the stay of the Image in the hands of the natives is part of Philippine history. The Sto. Niño, as writer Joaquin put it, “connected, he linked, he joined together our pagan and our Christian culture; he belonging to both.”
The Santo Niño has been there in our early cultural growth, “an image in our quest, of our 400 years of history,” said Joaquin.
STO.NIÑO CHURCH CEBU CITY
found an image of the Child Jesus under the pile of ashes unscathed inside the wooden box.
As earlier authenticated entry in the Journal of Pigafetta, clerk in the Magellan expedition, explains the origin of Santo Nino: "On the day Queen Juana was baptized by Father Pedro Valderama, chaplain of that expedition, Pigaffeta himself presented her with the Image." The same Image now lies in the Basilica del Santo Nino and become a favorite destination for millions of pilgrims each year. For four and half centuries now, the Image of Santo Nino continues to make wonders in the lives of many Filipinos. On the third Sunday of each year, in Cebu, millions flock to the streets for a colorful festivity, honoring and placing the Island and the entire Philippines under His Patronage.
During the last World War, a bomb fell inside the Church but the Image was recovered unscathed. It was one of the numerous miracles and powers attributed to the Holy Image.
In 1965 the historic Santo Nino Church was renovated for the observance of the Fourth Centenary of the Christianization of the Philippines held in Cebu City. It was during the centennial celebration that the Sacred Congregation of Rites elevated the Santo Nino Church to the rank of Basilica Minore with all the rights and privileges accruing to such title.
During the last World War, a bomb fell inside the Church but the Image was recovered unscathed. It was one of the numerous miracles and powers attributed to the Holy Image.
In 1965 the historic Santo Nino Church was renovated for the observance of the Fourth Centenary of the Christianization of the Philippines held in Cebu City. It was during the centennial celebration that the Sacred Congregation of Rites elevated the Santo Nino Church to the rank of Basilica Minore with all the rights and privileges accruing to such title.
PROCESSION OF STO. NIÑO
Cebu City procession during sinulog two million people from all walks of life are expected to witness Sunday’s 30th Grand Sinulog Mardi Gras, a festival of all festivals that celebrates the Feast of the Sto. Niño de Cebu, which will kick off with streets dancing passing through the major streets of the city.
On Saturday, church and police officials said more than two million devotees attended the fluvial procession and the solemn street procession that lasted for more than six hours and spanned six kilometers around the city despite the continuous drizzle.
The fluvial procession features a galleon that carried the image of the Sto. Niño de Cebu and the Our Lady of Guadalupe from the St. Joseph Parish in Mandaue City to the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño in Cebu City via the Mactan Channel.
Many Cebuanos do not consider the Christmas season over until the Feast of the Santo Niño. Other festivities in honor of the Holy Child include Kalibo, Aklan’s “Ati-Atihan” Festival; “Romblon’s, “Biniray” Festival; Cagayan de Oro City’s, “Pachada Senor;” Butuan City’s, “Kahimunan” Festival; Antique’s “Binirayan” and “Handugan” Festivals; Iloilo City’s, “Dinagyang” Festival; and Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur’s, “Zambulawan” Festival.
Commemorative rites will also be held in Malolos, Bulacan; Laoag City, Ilocos Norte; Binalonan, Pangasinan, and in other parts of the country where every Filipino home keeps an image of the Sto. Niño in their altars.
The Catholic Church sets the Holy Child as “an example of humility and as a celebration of the Incarnation of Christ.” The Holy See has approved special liturgical texts for the Feast of the Child Jesus.
The image of the Holy Child was brought to the country by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan on April 14, 1521, as a gift to Queen Juana of Cebu who was reportedly moved to tears after she saw the 15-inch tall wooden statue of the Sto. Niño. She allowed herself to be baptized as a Christian, along with her husband Rajah Humabon and more than 800 natives.
After Magellan was killed by Lapu-Lapu in the Battle of Mactan, not much was heard about the image, except that the Cebuanos worshipped the Santo Niño as a rain god.
Forty years later, in 1565, when Spanish “conquistador” (conqueror) Miguel Lopez de Legazpi arrived in Cebu, a Spanish soldier, Juan Camus, found the image inside the house of a native. His house was razed by fire that miraculously spared the holy image.
Legazpi named Cebu as the City of the Most Holy Name of Jesus.
This Sunday, the image now known as Sto. Niño de Cebu is considered the oldest Christian relic in the country. It is enshrined and venerated at the oldest church in the country, the Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño in Cebu City
THE SINULOG FESTIVAL OF STO. NIÑO
It is essentially a dance ritual which remembers the Filipino people’s pagan past and their acceptance of Christianity.
The festival features some the country’s most colorful displays of pomp and pageantry: participants garbed in bright-colored costumes dance to the rhythm of drums, trumpets, and native gongs. The streets are usually lined with vendors and pedestrians all wanting to witness the street-dancing. Smaller versions of the festival are also held in various parts of the province, also to celebrate and honor the Santo Niño.
Aside from the colorful and festive dancing, there is also the SME trade fair where Sinulog features Cebu export quality products and people around the world flock on the treasures that are Ceburt.
Recently, the cultural event has been commercialized as a tourist attraction and instead of traditional street-dancing from locals, Sinulog also came to mean a contest featuring contingents from various pas of the country. The Sinulog Contest is traditionally held in the Cebu City Sports Complex, where most of Cebu’s major provincial events are held.
“Sinulog” plainly means “graceful dance” accompanied by drumbeats and a glum holy mass become a crowd-drawing international cultural festival of Cebu. Cebu has a Roman Catholic Archdiocese, and has numerous historical churches, including the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño, the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, the San Carlos Church, the Santo Rosario Parish Church, San José-Recoletos Church, and Sacred Heart Church as well as several other non-Catholic churches, mosques, and temples.
And it is the one of the most remarkable religious landmark of the province aside from the Basilica Minore del Santo Nino is the Magellan’s Cross. It is a wooden tindalo cross said to be the same structure that Ferdinand Magellan planted in the seashore upon his arrival in the Philippines soil in 1521. The antique cross housed in an artistically made shrine became a witness to the rise and blazing progress of Cebu as the civilizing heart of the Philippines.
