Tilapia Festival Year 3 at Laurel's 52nd Founding Anniversary

Maundy Thursday is the start of the main Easter celebrations in the Philippines, which is part of the larger Holy Week celebrations. According to Biblical tradition, Jesus was crucified on the Cross on a Friday (hence, “Good Friday”), and Maundy Thursday commemorates the events leading up to the Crucifixion.

Maundy (also known as the “Washing of the Feet”) is a religious rite. A re-enactment of the Lord’s Supper and Jesus washing his disciples’ feet are often observed on this day. Filipinos traditionally visit either seven or 14 churches (this tradition is called visita iglesia or “to visit churches”) where this re-enactment is held.

Celebration of Padre Garcia’s Kabakahan Festival 2020 on December 1, 2020.

National Heroes Day in the Philippines is a public holiday to honour and remember the country’s National heroes.

These heroes are the men and women in Philippine history whose acts of courage enabled the Philippines to grow as a nation. Whilst National Heroes Day celebrates both known and unknown heroes, a National Heroes Committee was set up in 1995 to recommend those who should be counted as ‘National Heroes’. Following certain criteria, they found a select group of people who, they believed, should be honoured for their deeds. These were:

• Jose Rizal
• Andres Bonifacio
• Emilio Aguinaldo
• Apolinario Mabini
• Marcelo H. del Pilar
• Sultan Dipatuan Kudarat
• Juan Luna
• Melchora Aquino
• Gabriela Silang

Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio were two of the main proponents against Spanish rule. As a result, both were also given their own special days commemorating their lives and deeds.

National Heroes Day in the Philippines is held every last Monday of August. This date was chosen as it marked the beginning of the Cry of Pugad Lawin in 1896, the start of the Philippine revolution against the Spanish colonisers.

Filipinos celebrate National Heroes Day by attending local commemorations (e.g. parades, wreath laying at shrines, etc.). As it is a day off for most workers, people often spend the rest of the day with family and friends at parks, shopping malls and other public areas. Small firework displays may also be held during the evenings in some local areas.

December 10, 2020 Maria Katigbak 28th Death Anniversary Commemoration

Online celebration of 172nd Founding Anniversary of San Juan, Batangas and Lambayok Festival on December 12, 2020.

Celebration of Fiesta De Los Toros at Nasugbu, Batangas on December 1-3, 2020.

Bonifacio Day is a national public holiday every 30 November in the Philippines to celebrates the birthday of one of the country’s greatest heroes, Andrés Bonifacio.

Born on 30 November 1863, Bonifacio is considered as the Father of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish colonisation. He, along with some others, started a movement known as the ‘Katipunan’ in 1892. The Katipunan was a secret revolutionary society that instigated military revolts against the Spanish colonisers.

Bonifacio became the Katipunan’s military leader and the president of the revolutionary government, which (according to some historians) makes Bonifacio the first president of the Philippine Republic. Bonifacio and the Katipunan recruited many citizens to their cause, eventually becoming the most prominent revolutionary force the Spaniards had to face.

However Bonifacio’s leadership was contested by some others, and in particular, Emilio Aguinaldo. After a series of leadership challenges and internal rifts, Aguinaldo violently took over the revolutionary forces and unjustly ordered Bonifacio to be tried and executed under the guise of treason.

Bonifacio Day is held every 30 November, or the Monday nearest this day to create a long weekend. Unlike the main national hero, José Rizal, Bonifacio Day is celebrated on his day of birth, rather than his day of death. This is because Bonifacio was killed by his fellow countrymen, rather than at the hands of foreign colonisers.