During the month of January . The feast of Sto. Niño is celebrated in almost all places in the Philippines. The feast of the Sto. Niño brings us back to the birth of Christianity in the Philippines. The feast is an occasion for recalling with thanksgiving how the precious gift of Christianity came to us.
The story ,as we very well know, is part of the story of conquistadors like Ferdinand Magellan. Magellan had in his company Antonio Pigafetta who chronicled his travels. Pigafetta’s diary tells it all.
Magellan was met by King Humabon and his family, his courtiers and his followers. Filled with missionary zeal, Magellan preached to them about accepting Christianity. In their simplicity they responded and many of the natives were baptized together with the royal family.
On this occasion, as was the practice of conquistadors, Magellan left gifts behind. It is almost certain that one gift he offered was an image of the Sto. Niño.
Why do we celebrate the feast of the Sto Niño? The reason we have for celebrating it is not exactly the same as the reason we have for celebrating Christmas. In Christmas we celebrate the gift of salvation and the powerful lesson that greatness does not depend on a show of power but on a demonstration of humility. Now the feast is mainly a thanksgiving feast for the gift of Christianity.
More than that, however, it is also a reminder that the destiny of this nation depends very much on the restoration and the strengthening of the values which Christianity first planted in the Philippines.
