OFWs celebrate "Pista Senyor" all over the world

The Filipinos’ well-known religiosity and devotion for the Infant Jesus Has been shown once again, all over the world, with the celebrations spearheaded by the OFWs on the third Sunday of January. This writer witnessed personally three successive Sinulogs in Central Taiwan alone.

The early morning mass in Tanzhi, Central Taiwan, attended by 500 Filipino workers and immigrants, was preceded by a one-hour Sinulog inside the Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, performed by the Singles for Christ. The high noon mass in the Immaculate Conception Church in Taichung City, attended by some 600 Filipinos, was also highlighted by a Sinulog presented by the El Shaddai community and the Legion of Mary.

At three in the afternoon, the 250 Filipinos attending the St. Patrick Mass performed the Sinulog dances around and inside the Church, led by the Lay leaders of the Catholic community who come from Cebu, Bohol, Leyte and Davao.The Filipinos didn’t mind the rains and the very cold weather in order to celebrate the feast of the Santo Niño.

In Kuwait, the Couples for Christ, led by Mandauwenhon Jun Mayol, together with El Shaddai Community also performed Sinulog around the premises in the Cathedral. Such a bold and daring celebration even in the coldest temperature ever, and in the Muslim world. This kind of Filipinos’ daring acts are repeated in Riyadh, Jeddah, KSA, albeit very discreetly and secretly, inside private homes, embassies and consular premises, in due deference to the strict Islamic laws that prohibit these activities. These were also done in Qatar, Bahrain, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and even in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.

In any place where there are Filipinos, especially Cebuanos, the Santo Niño Feast will always be celebrated with much fanfare and glee. In Malaysia, the St. John Cathedral is dominated by Filipinos and Indian faithfuls. The Filipinos always make sure that Sinulog is performed by the Filipino migrant workers.

In Penang, the Filipinos celebrate the feast in the four Catholic churches, including the Cathedral also dominated by Filipino parishioners. The same is true in Johore spearheaded by the JOFA or Johore Overseas Filipino Association, and in Kuantan, led by the Kuantan Filipino Community. The Santo Niño is very popular in Sabah and Sarawak, especially in the Catholic Churches in Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Labuan Island, Sebu and many other communities of Filipinos.

In the USA, the Filipinos in southern California are very active in San Diego, Los Angeles and all over. The same is true in the North - San Francisco, Sacramento, Stockton and Lake Tahoe, all the way to the North in the state of Washington, in Seattle, Federal way and Fife.

Even in the gambling cities of Reno and Las Vegas, the Filipino casino workers take a leave to celebrate the Sinulog Festival together, with the usual food, drinks and singing and dancing. In New York, New Jersey and in Chicago, and all over the USA, including Florida, Georgia, and Texas, Sinulog is being celebrated with much fervor and religiosity.

Meanwhile, I also received reports from London, Scotland and Ireland that Sinulog is being celebrated with great devotion and fanfare.

It can therefore be said that the Sinulog has already become a global celebration among Filipinos. The Sto Niño is becoming the favorite object of veneration by OFWs all over the world. Pit Señor!

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