CBCP exec: Santo Niño feast day is for prayer, not parties

The feast is for the Santo Niño, not "Marca Demonio".

An official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has reminded devotees that getting drunk to celebrate the feast of the Santo Niño will defeat the purpose of the feast day.

 

“They should not get drunk so that the real essence of the celebration can be felt. People’s devotion to the Santo Niño does not match [their actions] if they will have a drinking spree,” Father Edwin Gariguez, executive secretary of the CBCP's National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-NASSA), said in an interview.

 

He said the feast day on Sunday, Jan.19, is supposed to be a day for prayer and to give praise to the infant Jesus Christ.

 

“We understand that the people want to celebrate the feast but we all know that too much drinking may result to fights, which we do not want to happen,” he said.

 

Devotion to the Santo Niño is particularly strong in Cebu province, which holds the Sinulog festival every year.

Aside from the traditional procession and Catholic masses, Sinulog also features street parties, concerts, singing contests, and beauty pageants. — JDS, GMA News