WHILE the rest of the Catholic faithful have ended the Christmas season on Sunday, January 5, merriment in Sasmuan town is expected to last until Friday, January 10, for the end of the five-day “Kuraldal”.

As of Saturday, hundreds of devotees have trooped to Sasmuan as part of their yearly devotion to attend any of the thanksgiving masses at the old parish church here and participate in the Kuraldal.

Traffic has been reported last Saturday to have reached as far as Guagua and Lubao town, along the roads leading to Sasmuan.

Kuraldal Atlung Ari is an annual folk religious dance ritual that has spawned hundreds of followers and believers through the years. It takes place at the chapel of St. Lucy, with participants taking part in a series of impassioned dances.

The occasion is one for merrymaking and revelry, where rich and savory food abound and goodwill flows as Sasmuaneños open their homes to family, friends, pilgrims and strangers.

January 6, in the Catholic calendar, is used to be known and commemorated as the Feast of the Epiphany, also, Feast of the Three Kings. The frenzied dancing culminates on January 10 as townsfolk the revelry.

Devotees from across Pampanga and neighboring provinces troop to this town, bringing with them hopes that an ardent wish, a long-awaited pregnancy and an immediate cure for disease would be granted with their participation in the festivity.