Dec. 10 to 13
Puto Festival
Residents of Calasiao in Pangasinan province celebrate the town’s native delicacy and major product, “puto” (rice cake). Calasiao’s bite-size puto is known to be tasty and free of preservatives. The town’s products include the white puto, called the “white gold of Calasiao,” and puto in different flavors and colors. Among the festivities are puto design contest and street dancing.
Dec. 12
Pastores Bicol
A Christmas festival in Legazpi City in Albay province that reenacts the search for the child Jesus by shepherds from Jerusalem. Performances feature singers and dancers dressed as shepherds, who sang the first Christmas carol. Nine contingents from all over the province join the competition at Peñaranda Park.
Dec. 15 to 19
Shariff Kabunsuan Festival
A religious and cultural celebration in Cotabato City in honor of Shariff Kabunsuan, an Arab missionary who arrived in the 15th century and introduced the Islamic faith to Mindanao. Activities include fluvial parade, banca race, cultural street parade contest, ethnic sports and a reenactment of the arrival of Shariff Kabunsuan.
Compiled by Kathleen de Villa, Inquirer Research
Sources: Inquirer Archives, DOT, officialgazette.gov.ph, PSA, pangasinan.gov.ph, lawyerly.ph