Candle Festival

Candelaria is a first-class town in the province of Quezon that’s home to more than a hundred thousand people. It’s classified as a first-class town, and, like many towns in the Philippines.

And, like any other town in the Philippines, it has its own festival. They call it the Candle Festival, celebrated annually on February 2. It is quite the spectacle for the town, highlighted by the parade that goes through the city streets.

NIGHT DISPLAY.

The Candle Festival, by tradition, is seen as the end of the Christmas season. It is normally set forty days after Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ. It is done to show the people of Candelaria’s devotion to the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria, or the Candlemas Virgin.

The Candelmas Virgin with a Candle.

The town’s celebration for the Candlemas Virgin began in 2005, when then parish priest Msgr. Carlos Pedro A. Herrera started his devotion to the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria. While the town itself celebrated a festival in honor of San Pedro Bautista every February 5, the parish priest decided to honour the Virgin with a Candle Festival held on February 2.

Highlights of the first Candle Festival included a vibrant street dancing competition and the candle float parade from the 25 barangays of Candelaria, which remains to this day. Click here to watch a performance from the 2013 Candle Festival. Video courtesy of Jim Darrel Clomera Youtube channel.

Photos courtesy of: metrokalan.com