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FLORES DE MAYO
The Flowers of May festival is another month-long celebration, distinctly separate from Santakrusan. In this celebration, the Blessed Virgin - not Santa Elena - is the focus of devotion. Every afternoon in May, young people go to church to pray the rosary and offer flowers and songs to the Blessed Mother. The flower-offering song goes like this:
Tuhog na bulaklak, sadyang salit-salit,
Sa mahal mong noo'y aming ikakapit,
Lubos ang pag-asa nami't pananalig,
Na tatanggapin mo, handog na pag-ibig,
Lubos ang pag-asa nami't pananalig,
Na tatanggapin mo, handog na pag-ibig!
(With a garland of flowers, we crown you, in faith and love, and we hope you will accept the token of our affection.)At the end of the month the young ladies of the town come out to portray the various titles of the Blessed Virgin Mary, carrying her symbols in a procession. Not only are Our Lady's litany titles represented, but also her pre-figurements in the Old Testament (Esther and Judith), but also St. Helena, the Samaritan woman, and the three theological virtues! To this day, I can't figure out how those religious symbols and characters got all mixed up together, but it's all in the celebration of faith - or is it?
This is the town's debutante ball, vanity faire, and fashion show rolled into one! More often than not, it becomes a beauty pageant! The one religious feature of this celebration is the beautiful image of the Blessed Mother, Queen of Heaven and Earth. This magnificent statue is another masterpiece of Pete's town hero, Mariano Cagahastian Madriņan.
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