Join the Bohol Fiesta Celebration, Please!

            By Vic Odarve

The Bohol fiesta celebration, widely ridiculed that the island will sink due to the surge of visitors during the month of May, attracts relatives from all over the world, allowing them to engage in the festivities with the locals and share their blessings for the entire year. It is, without a doubt, a unique practice that the indigenous people have followed since time immemorial.

One of the highlights during celebration

Most native Boholanos who live outside the province feel obligated to visit their ancestral places, which provides an opportunity for a family reunion and the introduction of relatives and friends. The celebration piques people's interest in returning to the island, tying their roots to where they came from while also providing time for bonding and reuniting with old friends.

Another thing they can do is go sightseeing in the places where their grandparents used to hike. It is an expanded universe. When you met up with your old friends, you never lacked for conversation, and your talk on this occasion was non-stop and wide-ranging. At that moment, it is like you are traveling to the past where you want to look back on your childhood years that were filled with events and memories.

During the month of May, villages often have colorful displays hanging along their streets, welcome signboards for visitors, and different neon lights during the celebration. There are also carnivals where people can play, enjoy different rides on Ferris wheels, or just enjoy the native foods being sold at different stalls. With open arms, the populace invites friends, relatives, and even strangers to participate in the large food preparation at homes. Highlights during celebrations are basketball and volleyball games, discos, dances, and beauty pageants and clan reunions. The festivities also include processions with floats adorned with images of each village or town’s patron saint and sometimes local beauties. Lots of fun to join!

Old folks at home

The folks have considered the fiesta celebration as part of their tradition. Fiestas serve as a thanksgiving of the community people to their patron saints for the whole year's blessings they receive; they share what they have, not just the material things, but also the joy and happiness; and they thank the Lord above all for everything He has given. They save money for a year and spend it during the fiesta just to have something to serve and celebrate. Through good and bad times, the fiesta must go on.

Visiting the places where you roamed before

Bohol Fiesta seems to shape the homing instinct of the Boholanos, and the Bohol fiesta celebration is indeed a unique one. Boholanos, residing within and outside the country, come home during the month of May to join the annual fiesta celebration. It is a never-ending journey of their lives, extending to the next generation. Seeing the happy faces could already alleviate the burden after the celebration. For foreigners, hospitality and warm receptions are worth emulating. For the senior Boholanos, the celebration meant the excitement of meeting their old friends. Because life is so short, we should live to the fullest expression of ourselves before we cross to the other side of the universe.

Join the Bohol fiesta celebration, please!

 

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