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February 01, 2018

Child Jesus honored with fluvial procession

The annual fluvial parade in honor of the Santo Nino or the Child Jesus is one of the highlights of the Sinulog Festival in the central Philippine city of Cebu.

The fluvial event off the shores of Cebu province is a re-enactment of the arrival of Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan who brought the image of the Child Jesus in the 16th century.

The procession also commemorates the arrival of Christianity in the country.

It has become a tradition to transfer the image of the Child Jesus from the Minor Basilica of the Sto. Nino to the city of Mandaue the night before the procession for a visit to a parish named after St. Joseph.

The image stays overnight in the parish church until early in the morning when the fluvial transfer starts.

A flotilla of more than a hundred boats usually join the parade while actors portraying Magellan and his men and Cebu's Queen Juana and King Humabon take the image of the Child Jesus through the waters of Cebu.

Military helicopters fly by and shower confetti on the people.

When spectators onshore see the boat carrying the image firecrackers are lit and balloons are released, marking the start of the religious celebration.

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UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia