The Vibrant Pahiyas Festival

The vibrant Pahiyas festival is celebrated every 15th of May. Colors, decors, fervors! This event features a contest for the Filipino arty houses that are spectacularly decorated with fruits, vegetables, grains plus assortment of embelishments from nature such as rice stalks, flowers, ferns, dried banaba leaves,talisay and branches. They even use coffee for more detailed textures. You can commonly see colorful rice wafers famous as kipping, these are actually rice doughs and are usually arranged into two or three layers imposing a chandelier look this is actually popular as aranya. They can eat the rice wafers like delightful rice chips after the competition for topnotch decorated houses. Many tourists visits Lucban, Quezon to witness the arty houses and fantastic parade of costumes.
The Pahiyas means precious offering and this festival has been a traditional expression of humility and gratitude to God and wishing for the people’s bountiful harvest in the coming seasons with the recognition of God as the Supreme Person. The sunshine, rain,wind, weather are all supremely controlled by God and He is the Supreme Source of everything. More so, this reminds everyone that we are dominated spirits and that we are nothing without God’s great mercy and empowerment.
This festival is also a remembrance of the legendary San Isidro Labrador who can magically plow the field after paying his obeisances to the Lord in the church during the 16th century. San Isidro Labrador offers his prayers having full faith to God as his friend and well wisher, he has tried to offer his farming as a devotional service to God. He practiced love for God with all his heart, mind and entire being in harmony with what Jesus has taught in his first and foremost commandment. He has tried to live a life pleasing to God. This also exhibits the thoughful potluck and hospitality among the townspeople. Farming is the main livelihood of the Lucban people and this feast of farmers creates a great bliss and excitement to all. There are smiles on everyone’s face and there’s a stationary spot that welcomes everyone who likes to dance and chant for peace accompanied with lively beat of instruments. The chanting for peace absolutely made the townspeople and tourists to rediscover the blissful nature in each of us and their eyes surely reflects oneness in love for God.