Sto Nino (Child Jesus) Sinulog Celebration 2020
In the Philippines the annual Sinulog celebrations are an important cultural and religious event as they commemorate the Filipino people’s acceptance of Christianity. The first conversions to Catholicism happened in 1521 on the island of Cebu, when the ruler, his queen and subjects were baptized.
At St Mark’s we gathered once again to celebrate our annual Sto Nino Sinulog Celebration and what a great turnout! We welcomed over 500 people with some travelling as far as Toowoomba, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast. We thank Fr Boni and Fr Severino from the Guardian Angels Parish in Wynnum for celebrating a wonderful mass and for blessing not only the Sto Nino statues but also the whole congregation. We also thank the Canossa Angels Choir who did an amazing job singing the Sto Nino hymns and songs that heightened the spirit of worship for everyone.
The rain cleared up just in time for the street parade and the heat did not deter the devotees from taking part in the dancing! An array of Filipino food was served during our fellowship lunch including 4 lechon (pig on a spit), pancit, afritada and humba just to name a few. A special thank you Tonet and Elvis Reyes, Lanny and John Cruz and to the Campomayor family for donating the lechons and to Belin Armstrong for the Sto Nino cake and cup cakes!
This year we had 4 vibrant dance groups from Ipswich, Goodna, Springfield and Forest Lake perform the Sinulog dance. Each group first performed individually then all the groups danced together and invited the congregation to join them. The whole undercover area was then full of people dancing and holding their Sto Nino up in the air! It was wonderful to see so many devotees dancing and really showing their devotion to Sto Nino – the child Jesus.
This is our 6th year of celebrating the Feast of Sto Nino at St Mark’s. There are other parishes that also celebrate this event such as Bulimba, Wynnum, Gold Coast and Warwick. The Sto Nino celebrations in 2021 will be extra special as it will be the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines.
