Right now almost everything associated with the Feast of the Santo Niño is being swept under the singular term Sinulog. This is wrong. The Sinulog is just the cultural aspect and commercial offshoot of the feast.
A classic example of the erroneous application of the term Sinulog in calling the week leading up to the feast day of the Santo Niño (which falls every third Sunday of January) as Sinulog Week.
Nothing can be more preposterous than this terminology. The Sinulog, which is just an offshoot of the “Pista Senyor,” presuppose the main thing that gave it being — which is the fiesta itself.
There would not have been any Sinulog without the Santo Niño and the “Pista Senyor.” No celebration can arise, whether as a matter of faith or culture, without first there being an object to celebrate about.
And that object of celebration, devotion and adoration is the Santo Niño. And it is sad that no real and serious effort is being made to correct the misimpression. Even more tragic is that we understand perfectly why this is so.
The feast of the Santo Niño is a matter of faith, whereas the Sinulog is all about fun and crass commercialism. While faith is priceless, it is in commercialism where big fat money is to be made.
But the fact remains that any pigheaded politico with no care in the world about his political future can scrap the Sinulog tomorrow and that would be that. But there is no scrapping faith. There is no consigning to forgetfulness the Santo Niño.
This is not an attempt to do away with the Sinulog. It has its great and wonderful uses to the Cebuano and to the nation. But for the sake of context and our own identity as a people, let us be precise with our references.
When the “Pista Senyor” comes around every third Sunday of January, say Sinulog only when you refer specifically to the mardi gras celebration. Otherwise, please give this day the honor it deserves by referring to it in its entirety as “Pista Senyor” or feast day of the Santo Niño.