January
January 1	New Year's Day	Family gatherings to celebrate media noche (a traditional midnight repast), loud explosions of fireworks, and midnight mass for the more devout.
First Sunday	Three King's Day	The Feast of Epiphany which marks the end of Christmas. Children receive gifts and star-shaped lanterns are hung in doorways and windows to symbolise the guiding star of the story. Santa Cruz and Gasan on Marinduque have special parades on this day.
January 9	Feast of the Black Nazarene	A lifesize image of Christ is dragged through the streets of Quiapo in Manila by a barefoot penitent. The procession culminates with a mass at Quiapo Church. The event is attended by ain excess of 100,000 people, many of whom try, in an act of ritual cleansing, to touch the image with a handkerchief or piece of cloth
Third Weekend	Ati-Atihan	Held in Kalibo on Panay Island, this festival is one of the largest and most exuberant fanfares of colour, musoc dance, costume and masks found anywhere in the islands. Often compared to the carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the Ati-atihan combines the atmosphere and energy of a Mardi Gras with the stunning visuals of an Italian carnivale. Try to book a room from Manila before turning up
Third Weekend	Feast of Saint Nino	Tondo (Manila) and Cebu are good place to be for this event, which marks the feast of the Holy Infant. This also denotes the end of the week-long Pasundayag sa Sinulog, a festival that is also celebrated in Kabankalan on Negros. Families take small Santo Nino statuettes to their churches to be blessed, and there are performances of the sululog dance.
Fourth Weekend	The Ibayay Ati-Atihan	A second Ati-Atihan festival takes place 30 kilometers northwest of Kalibo on the weekend after the main event. The festival here is simpler and, perhaps, more authentic than the Kalibo version.