Sinulog 2026

We're hearing lots of very loud drums and seeing lots of decorations.  It's the yearly celebration of Sinulog -- an almost weeklong party culminating today (Sunday, January 18) with a huge parade and more dancing in the streets.  They say people will party 24 hrs/day all weekend long and then they will sleep for 24 hours on Monday.

We got to see a mini-Sinulog celebration in the Ayala shopping center this week, with dancers and drummers.  Other than that, we will let people party and we will go to church today.  Too many people congregating for me -- millions, they say.

In 1521, the Portuguese explorer, Ferdinand Magellan, led a Spanish expedition to Cebu, bringing Christianity to Philippines and claiming the land for Spain.  For the next 300 years, the Philippines would be under Spanish rule.  Lots of Filipino names sound very Spanish.

Magellan presented an image of Santo Niño (the child Jesus) to the queen of Philippines.  This image and others like it are used in the Sinulog celebration.  Incidentally, Magellan was killed with a poison arrow by Filipinos who resisted conversion to Christianity.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Shopping at a huge mall here in Cebu -- the Ayala Mall and Metro store.  We thought the Mall of Scandinavia in Stockholm (which was the largest in Sweden) was huge, but this is even bigger.  We got lost several times.  Lots of Sinulog decorations everywhere.

Lots of Santo Niño dolls, patterned after the original image that Magellan left in Cebu, are for sale everywhere.  Magellan left the image with the queen, and then it was lost, but years later, it was re-discovered.

Shrine in the mall with lots of images of Santo Niño made by different people.  The Ayala shopping center has 7 levels, with 3 below ground.  Here we are looking down on the Sinulog display from a higher level.

Love the quote center bottom: "Sometimes I am too hard on myself, God.  I expect myself to be perfect, but you only expect me to try."  Fits me to a T.  Interesting carvings and sculptures of Santo Niño (the child Jesus).

Love this also:  "Today I will remind myself that I am a person of worth.  God created me and he loves me."  So true.  We are all children of God -- sons and daughters of heavenly parents.  He loves us and wants us to come back to Him.  This is why we serve missions: to share this truth with the world.

Very delicate and intricate work honoring Santo Niño.  We too believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ, but we don't use a lot of images in our worship.  So grateful that Jesus was born on earth, that he suffered and died, performing his marvelous atonement for all, and that he rose again and is alive today.

Enjoyed our "mini-Sinulog" experience at the local mall.  Now we don't have to go to the main celebration with millions of people.  The dancing, according to Wikipedia, represents, among other things, "Queen Juana holding the Santo Niño in her arms and using it to bless her people, who were often afflicted with sickness believed to be caused by demons and other evil spirits."  The Sinulog celebration is actually a combination of religious and pagan traditions.  But I think that mostly it's become a time to party.

Welcome to Cebu City, Philippines!

New Years Day 2026.  My first thought when we stepped off the plane after a 14-hour overseas flight was: I can't breathe!!  We went from a very dry 10 C in Canada to . . . we didn't know what degree celsius in Cebu City.  But it was definitely hot and humid.  We are adapting.

We live in a lovely, gated, guarded compound on the grounds of the Cebu City Philippines LDS Temple.  It feels peaceful and we feel safe here, as well as on the streets outside as we walk or drive.  The people are friendly and kind and helpful.

A little bit about the Philippines:  Canada's province of Alberta is twice the land mass of the Philippines but the Philippines has 110 million people compared to Alberta's about 4.3 million.  Just in the Cebu City Temple area, 170 dialects/languages are spoken, with Cebuano and English being the main languages.  Yes, we may learn a little Cebuano!  Most people know a little English, so we get along.

Filipinos live on about 7600 islands so transportation is by boat or plane, then bus or jeepney or motorcycle or taxi.  We often see patrons or temple workers arriving with motorcycle helmets tucked under their arms, including the women.  It is a huge sacrifice of time and money for many to attend the temple.  More about the temple in my next post.

We are just a 2-minute walk from the temple (or less than that if it happens to be raining and we are running!)  We work in the temple every day except Sunday and Monday as the temple is closed on those days.  A very different commute to the temple compared to the almost 2-hour trip from our farm near Grassy Lake to the Cardston Alberta Temple.  And a very different landscape out our apartment window compared to the farmlands of Alberta. (Somehow the picture flipped to the top).

Christmas decorations were still up when we arrived.  Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus with the Cebu temple and beautiful gardens.  Love the flowering trees and bushes.

We first learned to love bougainvillea in Israel.  The blossoms are purple, pink, yellow, orange, or white.  I tried growing them at home and they lasted for a season and then died.  Sad.

The beach spider lily grows all over southeast Asia.  So delicate.  We first saw these lovely flowers in Singapore.

These are Plumeria flowers, also known as frangipani or kalachuchi in the Philippines.  Women and girls wear them in their hair. 

This is a lineman's nightmare!  Or a farmer's nightmare!  Not sure how they keep track of which wire goes where.  Definitely an Asian phenomenon!

Motorcycles everywhere!  Pedestrians do not have the right-of-way.  Nor do cars, when it comes to motorbikes.  Motorcycle taxis are a quick way to get around but are not recommended for senior missionaries!  We saw a man hop on to a motorcycle taxi and say a quick prayer and make the sign of the cross as they took off.
Jeepneys are a cheap and great way to get around the city.  (See photo above motorbikes).  They evolved from the WWII US military jeeps that were repurposed as buses.  So colorful and crowded and a very popular and cheap way for Filipinos to get around.

Here you can see the front of the jeepney.  The back is open so people can pile in or hang on to the back.  We haven't seen too many bicycles, but here's one.  Helmets are mandatory for motorbikes and bicycles and passengers.  You also have a good view of my fingers.

You can see how crowded the jeepney is, and how they hang on to the back.  Fun!  Wish I had the courage (or whatever) to try one.  On our Kenya Nairobi Mission, there was similar transport called matatus.  The young missionaries rode them, but we seniors were not to ride on them, but I'm pretty sure our mission president's wife, who was South African, rode them with young black sister missionaries at times. Luckily, we had our own vehicles to drive in Kenya and Tanzania.  Here in Philippines, we don't have a vehicle but have access to a van, which we share with two other senior couples.  We shop for groceries once a week and other times, we take taxis, which are very cheap.