In less than 5 years, the oldest millennials will be turning 40. By then, this generation will make up a considerable part of the population, taking up much of the workforce, consumers, and key positions in shaping the world in the near future, hence the talk about their values, habits, beliefs, and traits. Liberal, passionate about the environment, and tech-savvy, millennials like to combine the old with the new. Take these unique traits and apply it to millennial home designs, and suddenly, you’ll see a trend going on.

These people take good interior design seriously, and their home-related needs differ a lot from their predecessors due to these factors: 

• The millennial generation typically doesn’t make as much money.
• They move more frequently than their parents.
• Their values largely differ due to various historical events that affected society.
• They generally live in smaller spaces than the past generation.
• They are heavily influenced by the internet and social media.

These differences indicate a huge shift in home design trends to meet the needs of this generation. Here are a few of the millennial home design trends that resulted from the demands of their time.

Top Millennial Home Design Trends

Smart home technology

The millennial generation has been born and brought up in an age of technology. It’s clear that Wi-Fi-connected technology throughout homes is key for more reasons than one: school, work, freelancing, entertainment, and even home security. The advent of smart devices and smart automation have taken things to a new level altogether for the millennial home. There are units in the home that can be controlled via smartphone apps to make life much easier. Lighting, heating, smoke detectors, TVs, and speakers can all be monitored from handheld smart devices. Millennials also require “technology friendly” spaces, which mean lots of outlets and charging stations.

Sustainability

Millennials care for nature and Mother Earth, so they reconnect with her in the best way they can. This is because going out to nature is not always possible anymore due to growing time constraints. This generation is also more informed about the effects of climate change, hence their nature-conscious buying habits. This design trend includes using organic materials in interior design, ranging from reclaimed hardwood floors and natural stone walls to house plants, which purify the air naturally and make the space look more vivid. Succulents are especially popular. 

Millennial home trend favorites

From pink flamingos to yellow pineapples, millennials like to add a little personality to their modern minimal homes. After all, however much they desire functional organized spaces, they still want their homes to look beautiful. But this requires a little curation. Here are some current trend favorites:

• White ceramics
• Matte finishes
• Colors in mustard, neutrals, and millennial pink
• Lots of brass
• Mid-century furniture
• A feature wall with art

Size-conscious furnishing

Due to the ever-increasing population growth in urban areas, the average millennial is often left with small apartments to move in. Remember how baby boomers enjoyed suburban rustic home design trends that were warm and rich with accessories? Today, millennials stick to their mantra of functionality and prefer minimalistic design that is devoid of all clutter mainly because this generation is more about efficiency, reasonable use of energy, and saving money. Another reason behind it is that smaller houses require more illusion of spaciousness and more skillful uses of space that include multipurpose furniture and hidden storage units. The increased use of technology also contributed to the trend; many accessories and clutter that were once physically needed in the home can now be found in their smart devices as apps.

Low-maintenance living

This generation is more and more conscious of the time, energy, and expense that go into the upkeep of living spaces due to the influx of information and opportunities they receive on a daily basis. This means that millennials are championing the move to high design at low cost, which doesn’t require regular maintenance. This explains the popularity of succulents and, partly, their preference for minimalism.

Conclusion

Millennials are the most active property buyers and consumers right now and for decades to come, so you’ll be seeing these home design trends take over malls, news feeds, and the world one year at a time.

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Apart from the living room and dining room, the kitchen is yet another part of the Filipino home that brings family and friends closer. It’s more than just a place for preparing food. The Filipino kitchen is a space where people gather to partake in age-old traditions, engage in nostalgic conversations, and spend time bonding on Sundays with people that matter the most. If you’re thinking about welcoming more people in to make more memories, bring it on.

Sadly, the typical Filipino kitchen space has always been considerably limited, but that does not mean your kitchen has to look cramped, cluttered, and daunting. Contrary to what a lot of people think, you don’t need an enormous space to have a functional, heartwarming kitchen. You also don’t need a major home renovation to banish clutter and become organized. It’s more about how you organize the space you have and stick to a system.

Here are simple tips to organize the typically small Filipino kitchen, arranged under relatable Filipino images.

How to Organize the Typically Small Filipino Kitchen

Orocan

Ah, the most familiar fixture in Filipino kitchens. Most of us don’t know how to pronounce cupboard because of this. The Orocan plastic kitchen storage is such a kitchen staple that we sometimes forget to clean it! Pull everything out and assess the damage. Are there unnecessary items there? Are there broken, unused mugs or casseroles? Are there bowls that now leak from the bottom? Toss these out or donate redundant items and start fresh. Give your Orocan the wash and wipe it deserves, and put everything back in their place. Is your Orocan itself begging to retire? Maybe it’s time to let go of your faithful friend and purchase one in a color that matches your tiles and walls. 

Tupperware

Memes about your mom treasuring her Tupperware more than she cares about you are all over the internet, and you need not look far to believe how much you love hoarding them as well. It’s hereditary. While Tupperware containers are heaven-sent kitchen products for your baon, leftovers, and take-home food from parties, these things can easily pile up in an unpleasant clutter and eat up the already-small Filipino kitchen space if not properly stored. And as much as we hate to see some of them go, do you really need fifty different Tupperware containers? Professional organizer Monica Ricci suggests you discard the containers without lids. Store the remaining plastic containers in a cupboard to keep them hidden.

Instant food

Sort your Century Tuna, Ligo sardines, Ma Ling, Lucky Me pancit canton, Nido Oriental, and everything else by category and expiry date. Like your Tupperware, these items are better hidden from the public eye to avoid the appearance of clutter in the kitchen. You may also use small clear mega boxes to categorize them within your cabinets. Are there packs and cans in your kitchen cabinets that have been stashed there way past their shelf life? Sometimes it’s tableya, tea, or green peas you forgot about. It’s about time to check and dispose of them before you carelessly serve them this week. Are there other objects in your cabinets that you haven’t been using? Discard or donate rarely used items, duplicate items, broken items, or things you forgot you had.

Pridyider

Anthropologist Krystal D’Costa argues that if you were to spend 10 minutes anywhere in someone’s home, the refrigerator would probably tell you the most about a person or family. “These machines, decorated by representations of ourselves, become deeply intertwined in our lives and offer personal glimpses into our lives.” Is your fridge filled with expired yogurt or leftovers from a friend’s birthday two months ago? Dried-up cabbage and sprouting potatoes? We get it; you’ve been too busy. But now’s the time to see which food needs to be pitched and immediately thrown out. Your refrigerator should house only current items and foodstuff. Keep this in mind, and it should be less cluttered this way. 

Cleaning up only takes a few minutes! Give your fridge a supermarket makeover by following the “first in, first out” rule. Like instant food, put the newest boxes and containers behind what’s already open. Keep things organized with bins, labels, and clear Tupperware.

Kitchen tools

We hate to mention roaches, but if you’re having a hard time keeping your kitchen moist-free, hanging your sandok, luwag, kaldero, kalan, embudo, and tadtaran may not be the best idea. We’ve stayed up all night more than once to prove that these nasty bugs do make their rounds more often than we want them to. 

Group your pots and pans and utensils by purpose and assign them to specific drawers or shelves in cabinets. Arrange your kitchenware by frequency of use, with everyday dishes on an easy-to-reach lower shelf and special-occasion pieces up above. Stack pans, cutting boards, lids, and baking sheets horizontally to limit any future frustration. Items like cast-iron skillets and Dutch ovens should always go in the lowest cabinet possible, partly because it’s safer to pull them out that way and you also won’t have to worry about the shelf they’re sitting on collapsing under their weight. Drawer organizers/dividers can also keep cutlery neatly separated, so you never have to rummage around for what you need. 

McCormick and Del Monte

Consider using wall space to add modern floating shelves for your favorite seasoning and condiment bottles. Organize the shelves as you would a library, with items grouped by category. To make your shelves look more aesthetically pleasing, be consistent with your bottles and containers in terms of design and stick labels to them yourself. These look lovely out in the open. 

Joy and Scotch-Brite versus Zonrox and Muriatic

You need all the space you can get, so keep the sink’s clutter as minimal as you can. Dishwashing needs should be on top of the counter. This includes sponges, scouring pads, and dishwashing liquid. Kitchen-cleaning needs are to be stored under the counter, which is the cabinet beneath the sink. You should see your Baygon, Lysol, Zonrox, gloves, and hard brushes here, not beside your sink.

Organize Your Kitchen and Make It a Habit!

Your effort today won’t be of any use next month if you are not consistent! Take a moment to reflect on how the organization is going. Define any problem areas and reevaluate. Is the new arrangement a petty hassle, or are you just lazy? Try to stay on top of your kitchen, and make it a yearly goal to declutter. Hope we helped.

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Lumpiang togue is a dish that is a staple on many Filipino dinner tables. All of us probably have memories of eating this nutritious but delicious dish when we were children. This dish is similar to the spring roll, but there’s a difference: meat, which is the main ingredient in spring rolls, is replaced by mung bean sprouts.

Lumpiang togue is popular not just as a viand but also as a snack. You probably remember eating it as part of your afternoon merienda. On the streets, sidewalk vendors usually sell this along with the common banana cue, turon, and kamote cue. To enjoy its savory flavor to the fullest, it’s best that you eat this while dipping it into a small dish of spicy vinegar with whole peppercorns and onions.

Did that get you salivating? Let’s not waste any more time and start learning how to cook this dish right away.

Lumpiang Togue Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound of mung bean sprouts
• Sheets of spring roll wrapper
• 1 teaspoon of garlic, minced
• 1 medium-sized carrot, julienned
• 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon of onions, minced
• 1 cup of fried tofu, chopped
• ⅛ teaspoon of ground black pepper
• ¾ cup of dried shrimps
• 3 to 4 cups of cooking oil

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat the frying pan you’ll be using. If you have a wok, that will work too.

2. After it’s heated up, put in two tablespoons of cooking oil.

3. After the oil has heated up, it’s time to put in the garlic and onions for sauteing.

4. Add the dried shrimps and cook them for about a minute, or until they have turned into a light pink color.

5. Put in the fried tofu that you have chopped beforehand and cook for about a minute, or until they turn a light golden brown. Lightly stir.

6. Pour in the fish sauce and ground black pepper.

7. Add the mung bean sprouts and cook for approximately two minutes while lightly stirring.

8. Add the julienned carrots and cook for up to two minutes.

9. Remove the fried vegetables from the pan and let it cool.

10. When it has cooled down enough, it’s time to wrap small amounts of the cooked vegetables in the spring roll or lumpia wrappers. Do this carefully so as to come up with the perfect lumpia.

11. Pour the rest of the cooking oil in a wok or a pot and let it heat up. If you have a deep fryer, you can also opt to use that.

12. Deep-fry all the wrapped lumpia until they all turn a golden brown color.

13. Remove all the lumpia from the wok or pot and place it on a plate lined with a clean paper towel. The purpose of the towel is to drain the excess oil.

14. When all the excess oils have been drained, transfer the wrapped lumpia to a serving plate. Serve it with your spicy vinegar dip on the side.

Enjoy this dish with your family and relive the fun memories of your childhood.

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It’s that time of the year again, when spirits are said to roam the earth and people huddle together and tell each other horror stories come nighttime. No, we’re not talking about Halloween, although it’s an occasion that comes around at about the same time. We’re talking about Undas, that time of the year when millions of Filipinos flock to the cemeteries to pay their respects to their departed relatives. 

We Filipinos have just started celebrating Halloween (a typically Western tradition) in recent years. But we also have our own older tradition that we take part in a day after Halloween on October 31: Undas, which we commemorate on November 1 to 2. Such an occasion is in celebration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, both Christian festivals that are in commemoration of all Christians saints and souls that have departed from this earth. Undas, which is also called Todos los Santos, has a lot in similarity with Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos. On this occasion, we offer prayers and flowers and light candles to the souls of our departed loved ones. Here are the top 10 practices that we engage in during Undas and that are uniquely Pinoy:

10 Things Pinoys Love to Do During Undas

1. Visit the cemetery.

Undas is the time when the crowds come out, and they all converge at the one spot that’s particularly popular at this time: the cemetery. But they’re not just there to visit the graves of their departed loved ones; they’ll also meet up with friends and relatives (the living and breathing kind, of course) and walk the side roads of the cemetery like their own runway. 

2. Dress up to the nines during undas.

Speaking of runway, Undas is also the time when people, for some reason, dress up in their best clothes or costumes. Some dress up in their favorite Halloween costumes, while others opt for more lowkey but fashionable styles.

3. Offer atang (food and drink) to loved ones who have passed away.

Mothers and titas are also especially busy at this time of year as they cook the favorite food and drinks of their departed family members and bring them to their graves or to a special altar at home that’s been set up for them.

4. Eat a lot of food and drink with relatives and friends.

The food and drinks prepared by the mothers and titas are not just for the dead; they’re also there for the family members and visitors to partake in and enjoy. Alcohol is usually prohibited in cemeteries, but that doesn’t stop people from sneaking in their favorite liquor and having fun, lighthearted drinking sessions with friends and relatives. The sidewalks also feature stalls that sell all sorts of snacks, refreshments, street food, candles, flowers, and even toys for the little ones.

5. Scare each other with stories of ghosts and ghouls.

This is one element that Undas has in similarity with Halloween—telling scary stories. Families gather and scare each other with tales about white ladies, ghosts, headless priests, disembodied voices, aswangs, manananggals, kapres, and other paranormal experiences. Often, these tales are often ones the listeners have heard of before countless times, but that doesn’t lessen their terrifying impact in any way. 

6. Have a spontaneous mini-concert during undas.

Filipinos, being the musical creatures they are, will always find a reason to engage in on-the-spot mini-concerts, like birthdays, graduations, family get-togethers, and the like. Even the solemnity of the Undas is no exception to this tendency as some people take this time to bring out their rented videoke machines and sing to their hearts’ content. 

7. Light candles and put them on doorsteps or outside homes.

This is another practice wherein one candle is lit for each departed relative’s soul and placed outside of the house or right on the doorstep. It is the common belief that this practice will light the way for the souls of the dead on their spiritual journey after death. 

8. Watch Undas TV specials.

Any Filipino family’s commemoration of Undas wasn’t complete without watching the annual Magandang Gabi Bayan Undas special, where host Noli de Castro would regale viewers with local ghost stories that made the flesh creep and the hair on one’s neck and arms stand up. Nowadays, our Undas habits include watching marathons of scary movies and TV shows and the annual Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho annual horror special. 

9. Hold sleepovers in the cemetery.

In the Western part of the world, it would be unthinkable to camp out in a cemetery overnight, unless you were on an actual ghost hunting expedition. Here in the Philippines, it’s been a tradition to spend an entire day in cemeteries and even sleep overnight in it until the next day. Some families bring actual tents, and others sleep atop their loved ones’ graves without thinking anything of it. 

10. Play with melted candle wax.

Everyone has done this: take a lighted candle and scoop up the melted wax and play with it like it’s Play-Doh. It was always so much fun playing with the wax and letting it dry on your fingers or making a big ball out of it; of course, you had to wait a bit to let the wax slightly cool. 

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Undas is the Philippines’ own Día de los Muertos, albeit not as colorful and festive. The Philippine Day of the Dead is more solemn and family-oriented, with the exception of enjoying food and drink by the graves of loved ones, sometimes offering a share of the snack to the dead.

Learn more about this tradition here.

Undas: The Filipino Day of the Dead

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Precolonial reverence for ancestors

In a previous article, we have discussed how Spaniards Christianized the rituals, practices, and feasts of our deeply spiritual, animistic ancestors. Remembering and respecting the dead were an established practice even in precolonial times. Before the Spaniards came and introduced the concept of the cemetery and All Souls Day, we already had burial grounds and traditions for deceased family members. In fact, we precolonial Filipinos venerated or revered our own ancestors. We did not have one “day of the dead” in a year; we revered the dead all year round, asking for their guidance in times of need and thanking them for success and joy.

Ancestor spirits were known as kalading among the Cordillerans, tonong among the Maguindanao and Maranao, umboh among the Sama-Bajau; ninunò among Tagalogs, umalagad among Visayans, and nono among Bicolanos. There was no concept of heaven or hell prior to the introduction of Christianity and Islam. Instead, the spirit world is usually depicted as an underworld that is a mirror image of the material world. Souls reunite with deceased relatives in the underworld and lead normal lives in the underworld as they did in the material world.

The predominantly Roman Catholic Filipino people still hold ancestors in particular esteem. Like cultures that believe their ancestors need to be provided for by their descendants, our tradition of offering food to our deceased loved ones’ graves is a pre-Hispanic practice, not a Catholic one. It is called pag-aatang in Ilocos, pag-aalay in Tagalog, and halad in the Visayas. Some families also still believe in watching over their loved ones’ graves overnight to guard the remains from aswang. Superstitious beliefs related to funerals such as refraining from bathing or combing hair and wearing black or white clothes during the interment are of precolonial origin as well.

Origin of Undas (Day of the Dead)

Meanwhile, having an exact day to remember the dead is a Western practice. In the eleventh century, St. Odilo, then the abbot of Cluny in France, was advised of a specific place along the pilgrim’s route to the Holy Land, a spot where “moanings of  impure souls arose” from an opening in the ground. These were supposedly the spirits trapped in purgatory, and a prayerful tradition for their ascent to heaven was soon established. Thus one theory traces the term undas from the Latin word unda, which means “smoke that billows.” St. Odilo later decreed that all monasteries of the congregation of Cluny were to annually keep November 2 as a “day of all departed ones” by offering alms, prayers, and sacrifices for the relief of the suffering souls in purgatory. The observance of the Benedictines of Cluny’s Day of the Dead was soon adopted by other Benedictines.

It took the practice around three hundred years to spread throughout Catholic Europe. Finally, in the fourteenth century, Rome officially made November 2 as the official day for the commemoration of “all the faithful departed.” The date was chosen so that the memory of all the “holy spirits,” both the saints in heaven and the souls in purgatory should be celebrated on two successive days.

The more popular etymology of undas, on the other hand, is the Spanish word honrar, meaning respect. In this context, the word refers to “respect for the dead.” Honrar conjugated to the first person present tense is honras (“you honor”). In Cavite, the Day of the Dead is still called Undras.

Undas (Day of the Dead) practices

Today, Filipinos gather in graveyards to clean and decorate the family grave as early as All Hallow’s Eve, then offer the dead prayers, candles, flowers, and food. More often than not, mourners keep vigil overnight at graves, eating and making merry to pass the time and keep the dead company sometimes for days.

Pangangaluwa (literally souling) is a Tagalog folk tradition where people clad in white cloth visit houses on All Hallows’ Eve and sing songs related to All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day to solicit for gifts. Kakanin or rice cakes, as well as food products made from sweet potato and purple yam, are usually prepared as tributes to these “souls” who are said to be hungry for food and attention; otherwise, the spirits would cause mischief or steal the chickens in the homesteads.

In Cavite City, fervent preparations begin a week before the first of November. Black is the color of Undras. Even the food served is black to signify solemnity and mourning. In the town of Naic, Alikaya is a black-colored biko made from a dark-hued glutinous rice called pirurutong. It is served along with pansit pusit, bihon, or sotanghon noodles blackened by squid ink.

In Cebu, the rice cake tradition during Undas takes the form of biko, offered in home altars, as well as in the cemeteries. Many families still practice this, just as their ancestors did before the arrival of Magellan in 1521.

Conclusion

Like any Filipino family reunion, Undas is a celebration of meals, gossip, and storytelling. However, unlike Catholic Mexico, Filipinos prefers solemnity for some reason. The syncretism of precolonial animism and Spanish influence, perhaps? Most likely.

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The Philippines is one of the countries with the most number of festivals in the world. The feasts in a single month alone will show you just how many there are in a year. A little over a week into October and there have been over thirty festivals that have gone by!

If you are meaning to witness the diversity of cultures thriving in the barangays, towns, cities, and provinces in the Philippines this month, here are the countless other chances that October can offer you.

October Festivals Around the Philippines to Choose From

Fiestang Kuliat

When: Entire October

Where: Angeles City

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Fiestang Kuliat is the longest feast in the country. Celebrated during the whole month of October, the feast venerates the patron saints of the city and preserves local culture and tradition through its festivities, activities, parties, traditional games, and pageants. The feast also celebrates the resiliency of the Kapampangans after the devastating Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991.

One of the things that make the Fiestang Kuliat unique is that the month-long celebration encompasses three feast days: 

• the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels (held every first week of October) 
• La Naval Festival in honor of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary whose intercession saw the victory of the Spanish felt over the Dutch invaders (every second Sunday of October)
• Fiestang Apo in honor of Apu Mamacalulu (every last Friday of October)

Fiestang Kuliat culminates in the Tigtigan at Tarakan Keng Dalan (literally “music and dancing on the streets”) on the last Friday and Saturday of October, where locals and tourists alike enjoy two nights of music, dancing, and overflowing drinks.

Kawayanan  Festival

When: October 1

Where: Gloria, Oriental Mindoro

The Kawayanan Festival celebrates the abundance of bamboo in the locality through street dancing performances, costumes made of bamboo materials, and a trade fair that sells and displays bamboo products.

Dilaab Festival

When: October 1

Where: Siquijor

Formerly known as Isla del Fuego (literally island of fire) by the Spaniards due to the swarms of fireflies that light up the island at night, Siquijor named its main festival the Dilaab Festival—dilaab meaning “blazing.” The Dilaab Festival is celebrated to appreciate the natural beauty of Siquijor and to honor the island’s patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi, who is known as a lover of nature.

Talulot Festival

When: October 1 to 2

Where: Pasay City

Talulot is named after the Filipino word for petal, in honor of St. Therese of the Child Jesus who is as well-known as God’s little flower. The Philippine festival is a vibrant and wondrous spectacle of music, dance, and other local talents. 

Paruyan Festival

When: October 1 to 4

Where: Talisay, Camarines Norte

Representing the municipality’s heritage and main product, which is rice, the Paruyan Festival is celebrated through several activities including a street dance competition and a beauty pageant. Paruyan is derived from the Bicolano root word paruy, meaning palay.

Unod Festival

When: October 1 to 7

Where: Castilla, Sorsogon

Unod Festival is a celebration and thanksgiving of the bountiful harvest of rich agricultural resources in the municipality and an opportunity for the farmers to display their products, which are usually root crops.

Mambulawan Festival

When: October 1 to 7

Where: Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte

Held in honor of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary, the festival aims to forge unity and cooperation among the community through showcasing the town’s best in promoting culture and arts and revitalizing the mining industry.

Parau Festival

When: October 1 to 12

Where: Pilar, Sorsogon

The patience, determination, and ingenuity of Pilareño descendants as shipbuilders are shown through the Parau float competition and their victory over the sufferings and agony from the brutality of Spaniards are showcased through street dancing.

Sinanggiyaw Festival

When: October 4

Where: Dumanjug, Cebu

The term sinanggiyaw comes from the two Cebuano words: sinanggi, meaning the harvested crops or the way/method of harvesting the crops, and the last syllable “-yaw” for sayaw or “to dance.” To celebrate, the townspeople showcase handicrafts, agricultural products, and a street dancing competition with steps that depict planting, harvesting, and thanksgiving.

Pagoda Festival

When: October 5 

Where: Cardona, Rizal

The Pagoda Festival is observed to ask for a bountiful lake by throwing bread into the water, praying symbolic of prayers for abundance of the sea through the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi, and witnessing a colorful fluvial parade participated in by various sectors.

La Torre

When: October 6

Where: Cardona, Rizal

For years, the bells in the tower (la torre) of the church belfry at Cardona announced cultural events and issued warnings in the advent of unforeseen calamities. Today the people celebrate the sound of the bells colorfully with the music of brass bands as a symbol of hope that Cardona may always remain in the grace of God.

Lubi-Lubi Festival

When: October 8

Where: Glan, Sarangani

Almost 90 percent of the Glan’s total land area is planted with coconuts, naming the town the Coco Queen of the South. Lubi-Lubi Festival reflects the old traditions of Glan celebrated through festive group dance competitions, each showcasing a particularly old religious belief of the people about the coconut tree. Animistic beliefs are brought to life in choreography by rituals of reverence to the tree as a source of blessings such as wind, water and rain, fire, good health, and even life.

Eggstravaganza Festival

When: First Friday of October

Where: San Jose, Batangas

In celebration of World Egg Day, Eggstravaganza Festival highlights the dominant business of San Jose, Batangas, as a town: poultry farming. This is also their way of thanking St. Joseph, their patron saint, for the success of their business. The town celebrates it with street dancing, contests, programs, and fun-filled activities to entertain local folks and tourists.

Kanduli Festival

When: October 9 to 12

Where: Lutayan, Sultan Kudarat

Kanduli is a Maguindanaoan term that literally means “offering.” The Kanduli Festival is a thanksgiving celebration showcasing the rich culture and traditions of the people of Lutayan.

It is conducted during the celebration to give thanks to Allah for the blessings he has extended and to sustain these blessings and ask for more for the improvement of lives of every people in the community. The barangays of Lutayan set up booths displaying agricultural products, traditional foods, and Muslim delicacies.

Karakol Festival

When: October 10

Where: Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro

The Karakol Festival of Mamburao in Occidental Mindoro is celebrated in honor of Our Lady of the Pillar. This parade is a festive celebration in the streets of the town where parishioners joyfully carry the patron saint with jovial music, dancing, and praising with the belief that they will be blessed with a prosperous life and good health. Street dancers wear colorful dresses and hats decorated with fresh flowers. 

Kaimonan Festival

When: October 10

Where: Tagum City, Davao del Norte

The word kaimonan literally translates to “gathering.” The Kaimonan Festival is a gathering of the four dominant tribes in Tagum City—namely, Mansaka, Mandaya, Kalagan, and Dibabaon—to celebrate a bountiful harvest and to give thanks to Magbabaya, their God. This celebration showcases different rituals, tribal songs, and dances.

Hermosa Festival

When: October 10 to 12

Where: Zamboanga City

Hermosa Festival, also known locally as Fiesta Pilar, honors Our Lady of the Pillar. In commemoration of her feast day, Zamboanga displays its devotion and enthusiasm with a nine-night procession, fireworks, an ethnic parade, a cultural show, a colorful regatta, and the Miss Zamboanga parade. 

Tugob Festival

When: October 10 to 22

Where: Ormoc City

Tugob is a Visayan word that means “bountiful” or “abundant.” Because of the abundance of coconut, rice, pineapple, livestock, minerals, sugarcane, vegetable, fish, steam, and water, Ormoc City celebrates the Tugob Festival alongside the city’s charter day on October 20. Clad in brilliant clothing, participants stomp their feet, raise their arms, slap their thighs, and applaud and yell as one as they express gratitude toward the Lord for a plentiful reap and for giving the city a variety of natural resources. 

Pyestang Tugak 

When: October 12 to 15

Where: San Fernando City, Pampanga

Tugak is the Kapampangan term for frog. The citizens of San Fernando have reserved a special day every year to honor this amphibian because of its important contributions to the environment, the economy, and culture. This festival exhibits the traditional way of catching frogs with a bamboo rod and showcases various culinary ways in preparing frogs.

Inug-og Festival

When: October 14

Where: Oroquieta City, Misamis Occidental

This festival showcases tribal performance in honor to the city’s patron saint, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, and as a tribute to the Subanen tribe inhabiting along the numerous rivers inside the Mt. Malindang Ranges Natural Park. Live music and ethnic musical instruments such as bamboos, gongs, and native drums provide accompaniment to street dances. Performers dress up in ethnic costumes while performing rituals in the street and dancing to the rhythm of the parade.

Calacatchara Festival 

When: October 14 to 24

Where: Calaca, Batangas

The Calacatchara Festival usually runs for a week and ends on October 24, the feast day of the town’s patron saint, St. Raphael the Archangel. During this ten-day period, you’ll see activities like pageants, concerts, dancing, singing, and other competitions.

Halad Inasal Festival

When: October 15

Where: Talisay City, Cebu

The city of Talisay in Cebu is well-known for its inasal na baboy or roasted pig. After the town became an independent parish under the advocating of St. Teresa de Avila, the people began to go out on the streets, dance, and parade their showcase of roasted pigs with their colorful costumes and decorated carts.

Sagingan Festival

When: October 16 to 17

Where: Tubod, Lanao del Norte

Lanao del Norte is a banana-growing province, and the town of Tubod is one of its biggest producers. In fact, Tubod yields thirty amazing varieties of bananas! Thus the town celebrates the bounty of its land and the fruits of its people’s labor. This weeklong festival showcases artistic presentations of their banana produce, as well as other products like handicrafts, through an annual booth competition participated by all barangay and local government agencies. Aside from this booth competition, the festival is also celebrated through a pageant, street parties, and dances.

Pamugu-an Festival

When: October 16

Where: Mansalay, Mindoro Oriental

Locals of Mansalay celebrate the Pamugu-an Festival as an annual reunion of the different Mangyan tribes. There are sports events (Palaro ng Lahi), cultural presentations, product demonstrations, and an exhibit of native products.

MassKara Festival

When: Fourth Sunday of October

Where: Bacolod City, Negros Occidental

Every fourth Sunday of October, the streets of Bacolod become filled with street dancers in colorful costumes, masks, and headdresses. Concerts, food fests, street parties, and revelry keep the city awake for a week more. This festival was actually born at a time of economic crisis and tragedy. To make ends meet, a couple of artists proposed the idea of making masks through paper-mache as an alternative livelihood for the city. The masks brought back the smile on the gloomy faces of the locals, and since then, Bacolod has been nicknamed the City of Smiles.

Buglasan Festival

When: October 22

Where: Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental

Buglasan is a provincial event where all the municipalities, cities, and towns of Negros Oriental come together and celebrate to promote and conserve the diversity of the province’s heritage through dances, songs, food, rituals, stories, and many more. The festival is named in honor of the original name of the province of Negros: Buglas.

Tinapa Festival

When: October 22

Where: Rosario, Cavite

Just like many coastal towns in the Philippines, Rosario is well-known to be a fisherman’s town. The making of tinapa or smoked fish, which is branded as tinapang Salinas among the townsfolk, remains to be the town’s primary cottage industry. This festival promotes Rosario as the tinapa capital of the nation.

Pakaradjan Festival 

When: October 24 to 31

Where: Tagum City

The Pakaradjan Festival exhibits the culture of the diverse Muslim clans in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, with a shared objective, that is, to safeguard, advance, and commend the custom of the five overwhelming clans in Tagum City: the Ka’agan, Maranao, Maguindanao, Tausog, and Iranon. It is a celebration of music, dances, and cultural presentation to the beat and rhythm of the kulintang, dobakan, and agong.

Lanzones Festival

When: October 25 to 28

Where: Camiguin

This festival is celebrated in honor of the lanzones tree, the most important source of livelihood of Camiguin. The main town on the island, Mambajao, is the center of the festival celebrations, which include cultural shows, street dancing, and a beauty pageant.

Ibalong Festival

When: October 25 to 28

Where: Legazpi City, Albay

Ibalong Festival is a yearly non-religious, folklore-based celebration depicting Bicol’s early beginnings, based on the epic written by the late Professor Merito Espinas, which tells of mythical superheroes, villains, monsters, and wild animals in the ancient times. Giant masks depicting characters of the Bicol epic of Ibalong are paraded the streets. Other attractions include street carnivals, musical performances, firework displays, and many more.

Aeta Festival

When: October 27

Where: Botolan, Zambales

The Aeta Festival showcases the culture and arts of the Aeta tribe in the province of Zambales, a celebration that also coincides with the celebration of Indigenous People month. Highlights of this event are ethnic performances like dances, music playing, songs, and indigenous games.  

Sambuokan Festival

When: Last week of October

Where: Mati City, Davao Oriental

Sambuokan is a Mandaya word taken from the term buok, which means “one,” signifying the oneness of the people of Mati. The festival is a celebration of thanksgiving for the year’s blessings and bountiful harvest. It is also celebrated with the founding anniversary of the city, which is on October 29. The event is a long-week celebration highlighted with the neo-ethnic Indak-Indak sa Kadalanan street dancing competition and other remarkable activities like concerts, musical showdowns, trade fairs, exhibits, beach parties, pageants, boat races, skimboarding and photography competitions, and many more.

Tigkaralag Festival

When: October 30

Where: Pavia, Iloilo

Tigkaralag, from the Hiligaynon root word kalag, meaning soul, is Pavia’s way of celebrating Halloween. Now on its twentieth year, eighteen contesting barangays in scary masks and costumes amuse visitors with horror stories interpreted through dance amid a very large crowd on a chilly evening. Tigkaralag opens at the public plaza with a parade of the contesting barangays carrying torches.

It is indeed more fun in the Philippines. Enjoy the festivities!

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