I went to the Pahiyas Festival in Lucban, Quezon last month with my brothers and three of my closest friends. We joined a tour group organized (again) by Travel Factor. The trip was quite interesting because
a. Our bus ride to Lucban from Metro Manila took 7 hours instead of the usual 3.
b. It was incredibly hot that day. Not really the nice type of weather you'd want when you're going to walk outside.
c. The traffic to the town proper was horrible. So many people wanted to go in but the streets were too crowded for cars to pass.
d. There were so many people it didn't feel like a festival, but more of a pilgrimage.
e. Our trip back to Manila took 6 hours.
So what is the Pahiyas Festival? This fiesta is in celebration of the Feast of San Isidro, the patron saint of farmers. Historically, farmers would gather offer their harvest for thanksgiving. They'd have a huge celebration believing that this would mean another prosperous year of harvest for them. For more of the Pahiyas Festival's history, you can check it out here.
The trip could've been better without the inconveniences, but hey--we enjoyed it nevertheless. I loved the house decorations, the parade was very colorful, and our dinner was free hahaha! I have an aunt who has a house in Lucban and she invited us over for dinner. God, we were stuffed! I can't believe that people would really spend so much on decorating their houses with kiping leaves, veggies, and fruits. I don't think the prize money was as big as the amount spent on the decorations, haha! Oh well, all in the name of being honored as having the best decorated house for the year's Pahiyas.
