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Saturday, January 14, 2006
Editorials: Feast of the Child Jesus
Sinulog/fiesta señor week has been generally peaceful despite reports of a rumble in Fuente Osmeña and petty crime incidents.
There is no reason, though, for law enforcers and concerned local government officials to become complacent especially with crowd-drawing activities scheduled for today and tomorrow.
The recent arrests of petty criminals supposedly coming from other provinces show that outsiders are putting additional burden on law enforcement units, thus the need for everybody to be vigilant.
Religious activity
It also pays to remind Cebuanos and visitors alike that the feast of the Sto. Niño is mainly a religious activity and only secondarily for revelry.
This has become a recurring issue during the fiesta considering that for the past few years the number of activities and the noise generated by cultural-cum-commercial aspect of the celebration have outstripped the religious aspect.
Add to that the actuation of some people, as shown in the previous Sinulog festivities, which tends to insult the Sto. Niño and our religious practices.
Cebuanos who hark back to the “good old days” when the fiesta señor was primarily church-based and solemn are therefore worried.
Hand-in-hand
But the cultural-cum-commercial aspect and the religious activities do not necessarily cancel each other out.
They do and can compliment each other and not clash, but that is dependent on the attitude of the organizers and those participating in the various activities.
Besides, activities like the Sinulog grand parade have already been institutionalized and the most that can be done now is to ensure that these will not drift away from their religious mooring.
Celebration
The country is not really in the best of shape and one proof of that is the lesser number of contingents joining tomorrow’s Sinulog grand parade.
This is something that should not be forgotten as the celebration of the feast of the Child Jesus reaches its crescendo.
While fiestas have been criticized as escapist fare, they do serve a purpose especially in fostering unity, easing the burden and providing hope.
The feast of the Child Jesus has never been different.
Pit Senyor!
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (January 14, 2006 issue)
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