Sinulog in Germany

The Sinulog celebration may come a little late than scheduled for the Filipinos in Germany – last February 9. The organizing committee – the Sto. Niño Group of Ruttenburg–Stuttgart, Germany – under the leadership of Fred Silician, co-chaired by Vicky Rupp, encouraged  Filipino and half-Filipino Sto. Niño devotees to join all Filipino communities in celebrating the feast day of Señor Sto. Niño. Over 500 Filipinos, Germans, other foreigners participated in the yearly event, now on its 14th year.

The celebration started with a morning Mass officiated by Filipino priest Rev. Fr. Louis Collantes, Spiritual Adviser for Filipinos in Baden Wurttemberg(Stuttgart) at the St. Martin Cathedral of Rottenburg followed by a procession from the church to the program hall. They reached the venue at lunch time. The Filipino tradition of salo-salo took place, making tourists and foreigners admire this aspect of Filipino culture. A little after, Rottenburger Festhalle became a venue for non-stop dancing of the Sinulog, parlor games and other gimiks. The merriment did not only stop there, the much-awaited raffling off of two round trip tickets from Frankfurt, Germany to Manila courtesy of Ticket Air Travel and JibReiseBuro went to the lucky Filipinos who will get the chance to see their families in the Philippines.

The Sto. Niño Group of Ruttenburg – Stuttgart, Germany,has been in existence since 1994 with only 30 members. The diocese in Ruttenburg diocese noticed their cause, so they offered a venue for the organization – the Rottenburger Festhalle.