Members of the local Filipino community celebrated the *Sinulog Festival in Macao 2024 yesterday, with this year’s event again seeing the return of the parade and dance contest after the COVID-19 pandemic in Macau.
Celebrated annually on the third Sunday of January in Cebu City, the festival honours Santo Niño, the Child Jesus, with the first local version of the event held back in 2003, according to the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) website.
Yesterday’s event, which followed a Novena** Mass that was held every evening from January 12 to 20, started with a Eucharistic Mass at St. Augustine’s Church in the morning, while the event’s main venue was in Praça da Amizade.
The parade, a colourful highlight of the event, saw members of the Filipino community in vibrant costumes dancing to the sound of drum beats from Praça da Amizade, along Avenida Doutor Mário Soares, and ending at Avenida Panorâmica do Lago Nam Van, gathering curious onlookers and spectators.
*“Sinulog”, as reported by the Post on January 16 last year, is derived from the Cebuano word “Sulog”, meaning water current movement, and refers to the ritual prayer dance honouring Santo Niño (“Holy Child”). It is reminiscent of the water current movement and is done to the drumming of Sinulog beats.
** A novena (Spanish for “ninth”) is an ancient tradition of devotional praying in Christianity, consisting of private or public prayers repeated for nine successive days or weeks.
Filipinos make their way towards Avenida Panorâmica do Lago Nam Van.
– Photos: Rui Pastorin
Members of the Filipino community celebrate the Sinulog Festival at Praça da Amizade yesterday.
