Saint Helena and the Santacruzan

The Santacruzan is a Filipino religious tradition. This event is part of Philippine culture and the lifestyle of Filipinos. The Santacruzan means the Holy Cross or in Spanish Santa Cruz. This event goes hand in hand with the Flores de Mayo, honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Helena or Santa Elena. Saint Helena is the mother of the first Christian Roman Emperor Constantine.

The Santracruzan celebrates St. Helena's pilgrimage to the Holy Land to find the wood where Christ was crucified. When St. Helena found pieces of the wooden cross she went back to Rome bringing with her pieces of the wood. The pieces of the cross were venerated by the faithful, the newly converted Roman Christians. The cross obviously is holy since that is the cross of Christ, hence called the Santa Cruz or the Holy Cross.

The Philippine Santracruzan is a long procession featuring the characters in the Christian Bible's Old Testament and New Testament. The final characters at the end of the procession are St. Helena or the Reina Elena aka the Empress or Emperatriz and her male consort Contantine or Constantino. In essence representing St. Helena and her son, the Emperor Constantine.

The Colorful Santacruzan

The Philippine Santacruzan is a colorful event. The celebration is held in big cities and small towns in the Philippines. The women who portray princesses and the Santa Elena or the Emperatriz are the Philippine's most beautiful women.

The formal gowns are beautiful and elegant and mostly inspired from the Philippine national costume called the terno. The formal gowns are created by the country's top designers. These designers compete in showcasing the creation of their gowns in this event. But at the end this celebration should be solemn since it should be the commemoration of the Holy Cross.



Photo Credit: Santacruzan at Flores De Mayo
Photographer: Annalyn
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/annalyn/sets/72157618635427765/

Flores de Mayo - The Month of Mary

One of the most serene and beautiful religious celebration in my native Philippines is the Flores de Mayo or the Flowers of May or Flores de Maria. The Philippines being predominantly Roman Catholic chose the month of May as the month of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

During this month churches and families especially in small towns all over the country offer their devotion to Mary by praying the rosary and singing Marian hymns. After the devotional the children will offer flowers to Mary's image. The image may be crowned with flowers the 1st of May or at least once a week during the month of May.

As a small boy I have done this solemn practice. It is a good way to proclaim my faith and my Christianity. The Flores de Mayo was an influence of Catholic Spain, which up to now has a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The culmination of the Flore de Mayo is the Santacruzan or the Holy Cross Procession commemorating the plight of St. Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine. The Santacruzan celebrates Santa Elena's or St. Helen's trip to the Holy Land to search for the wooden cross where Jesus Christ was crucified. Once she found pieces of the wooden cross she went back to Rome and offered prayers and thanksgiving.

On my next blog I will discuss this celebration with pictures of the beautiful beauty queens representing the many names of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Helen herself.

Photo Credit: Mary's Statue with Flower Offerings
Photographer: John Francis Jumaquio
Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/people/jumaquio31/

The Merry Month of May

Oh here we are...May 2010. I am very busy with my job and with all the schedule talking to models and setting up photo shoots to build my portfolio. But yes it is the month of May. Raised Catholic in the Philippines I often feel happiness when the month of May arrives because in my country we celebrate Flores de Mayo or The Flowers of May in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This is the month dedicated to Mary and for kids to offer flowers in front of Mary's image in Catholic churches.

May is also a lovely month since this is the time when flowers bloom at their best and it is the month before summer comes, my favorite season of the year.

Well perhaps tomorrow I will post a new topic. Let's see.