The Pahiyas Festival of Lucban, Quezon holds the record for being the biggest and most colorful harvest festival in the Philippines. This tradition undoubtedly to be the most photographed of the festivals that it graced the pages of popular travel books and magazines everywhere since.
The Pahiyas Festival is celebrated in honor of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of farmers, peasants and laborers. Held every 15th of May, this centuries-old festival transforms the small town of Lucban from ordinary to exquisite sight. It takes a long time to prepare for the festival and a short period to celebrate. One of the much anticipated sights to see is the colorful decoration of houses made from different fruits, vegetables, and kiping, a leaf-shaped wafer created from rice paste in brilliant colors. Each household tries to outdo each other in friendly competition as they vie for honor of recognizing their creativity. The locals say, the procedure in making the kiping is a secret and only the chosen ones will be entrusted to make it.
As Pahiyas Festival visitors enjoy the displays of multicolored kiping, newly harvested fruits and vegetables, and native products that adorn houses of Lucban, Quezon, they are unaware that the tradition behind the colorful visual harvest festival is dying. Younger Lucbanin seem uninterested to continue the tradition of making kiping, the indigenous arangya (kiping chandeliers) and other homegrown products that have long been used as decorative items during the festival. Most young Lucbanin would rather spend time with their friends, surf the internet and interact through social media platforms If this continues, the tradition may soon end and the Pahiyas Festival will never be the same again.
My heartfelt appreciation to my travel buddy, the All-Time Mutya ng Lucban, Tess Nanez, for hosting my trip and for being a not-so-quiet ambassadress of the cool, clean, and quiet town of Lucban, Quezon.
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