Some April Celebrations in the Philippines

Philippines is a country that is rich with festival celebrations. Below are 12 of these festivals held during the month of April.

1. Via Crusis - patterned after the Way of the Cross in Lourdes, France, this festival is celebrated with life-size statues of the 14 Stations of the Cross built on 12 hectares of rolling hills in Banawa Hills, Cebu City with devotees doing their penitential procession.
2. Pak'kaat Kallo - an annual feast celebrated during the Holy Week by the Manobo tribe of Magpet, Cotabato in celebration of a bountiful harvest.
3. Moriones Festival - is an annual religious festival held during Holy Week, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, in Boac, Marinduque which is a pantomime of Longinus who is a Roman centurion that was cured of blindness by a drop of blood from Jesus Christ. This festival will be happening on April 13-20 for this year of 2014.
4. Manaoag Festival - is an annual pilgrimage festival to the Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag held in Manaoag, Pangasinan during the 2nd week of April.
5. Turumba - an annual festival in Pakil, Laguna commemorating the seven sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Turumba ("Our Lady of Sorrows of Turumba") which is also the reason why it is celebrated with seven feasts or lupi between the months of April and May.
6. Ang Pagtaltal sa Guimaras - an annual festival held during Good Friday in Jordan, Guimaras Island, which is a re-enactment of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Guimaras Island is located between the islands of Panay and Negros in the Western Visayas region.
7. Lamilamihan Festival - an annual festival coinciding with the foundation of Lamitan City, Basilan during the 2nd or 3rd week of April which showcases the Yakan tradition, culture, history and also the unique and world-renowned colorful Yakan cloth and cultural presentations that includes the Yakan war dance or "Tumahik".
8. Kadaugan sa Mactan - a one-day festival held every 27th of April in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu commemorating the historic battle between Lapu-Lapu and Ferdinand Magellan.
9. Tanduyong Festival - an annual celebration in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija for a bountiful harvest. Tanduyong is a variety of shallots or onions.
10. Sinabalu Festival - celebration of the founding anniversary of the Malaueg town of Rizal in Cagayan province with the traditional cooking of "Sinabalu" which is glutinous rice with coconut cream cooked on bamboos and roasted in open fire in the town square.
11. Kesong Puti Festival - is an annual celebration in Sta. Cruz, Laguna which will be celebrated from April 1 to 9, 2014 to boost the town's industry of kesong puti or white cheese which is made of native carabao's milk.
12. Bangus Festival - an annual month-long festival held in Dagupan City, Pangasinan first celebrated in 2002 through the initiative of the then-mayor Benjamin Lim, which aims to promote the city's local milkfish or "bangus" industry. The Kalutan ed Dagupan was recognized in 2003 by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Longest Barbecue in the World".