Colorful and Exciting Festivals in Nueva Ecija Part 2

COLORFUL FESTIVALS

Nueva Ecija, the largest province in Central Luzon, is a historic province with colorful and remarkable festivals. This province, with 5 cities and 27 municipalities, has diverse cultural traditions that became significant part of Novo Ecijanos culture and tradition.

Here are some of the most famous festivals in Nueva Ecija: Read More: https://trebonasomreb.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/popular-and-notable-nueva-ecija-festivals-socyberty/

Pagibang Damara Festival

Photo from: jonlombs.multiply.com

Sociable and cheerful, Filipinos love holding festivals, celebrations that are fun, colorful, exciting and also very meaningful.

Called fiesta or pista in the Filipino language, these festivals are held all year round in many islands of the Philippines for different reasons:

to give thanks for good harvest or catch
to mark special events in local history
to venerate Catholic saints

Pagibang Damara is a festival in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija wherein its people celebrates to give thanks for a good harvest in line with their celebration of the City Fiesta on the second or third week of April every year. Read More: wikipedia.org

Araquio Festival

Photo from: decktheholidays.blogspot.com

Held every 2nd Sunday of May, in Penaranda, Nueva Ecija, the Araquio Festival is a traditional procession and dramatization of the finding of the Holy Cross by St. Helena and her son, the Emperor Constantine, where Jesus Christ was crucified. Similarly, the komedya or moro-moro carries on in some villages such as Poblacion (2nd Sunday of May), Las Pinas (May 11 – 12), Sto. Tomas (1st Sunday of May), San Jose (3rd Sunday of May) and Pinasahan (May 21-122). Dating back from the Spanish colonial period, the festival features vivacious beats of brass bands, spirited choreography and moving voices embraced with a daunting literary piece. Written in ancient Tagalog, the script tells about the feud of the Muslims and Christians that started over territories. It shows how Christians used the power of the cross symbolizing their faith in defeating the Muslims, who later retaliated by way of stealing the cross from them. Many battles preceded the retrieval of the cross, which in the end led to the Christening of the Muslims. Read More: http://theholidayandtravelmagazine.blogspot.com/2012/05/festival-fun-in-central-luzon.html

Gatas ng Kalabaw Festival

Photo from: mysmartschools.ph

The province of Nueva Ecija continues to pursue its bid to become the “Dairy Capital of the Philippines” as it observed the 7th edition of the annual “Gatas ng Kalabaw (Carabao’s Milk) Festival”, this time graciously hosted by the town of Gen. Natividad.

The festival, which was held November 15, at the town’s gymnasium, aims to promote the dairy buffalo’s milk not only for economic benefits but also for the promotion of health and nutrition among small-hold dairy farmers and their families as well as the consumers.

Highlight of this year’s celebration was the symbolic “tagay pugay (toast of salutation)”, a simultaneous milk toasting and drinking featuring school children and representatives from partner private institutions and government agencies. It emphasized the significance of multi-sectoral efforts in promoting and uplifting the local dairy industry in Nueva Ecija, which is the National Impact Zone (NIZ) of the Carabao Development Program (CDP) of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC). Read More: http://www.pcc.gov.ph/nueva-ecija-celebrates-7th-gatas-ng-kalabaw-festival/

Source: visitmyphilippines.com