By Mary Quizon
May is the month when flowers bloom , the month of Flores de Mayo.
Flores celebrations has been a tradition practiced way back since the beginnings of Christianity in the Philippines brought by Spanish benefactors.
During the whole month of May, blooms abound and in gratefulness for the beauty of the gift of flowers, is offered back to the Mother of God by way of the Flores de Mayo commemorations.
Flores de Mayo events originally were daily offerings of flowers to our Lady during the whole month of May. Young and adult love the Flores commemorations done in Churches not only in the Philippines but also abroad where Filipinos live in great numbers such as Queensland in Australia and Los Angeles in America. They hold big time Flores de Mayo celebrations holding Santacruzan and Fiestas to culminate the celebration on the 31st of May.
Stories about the mini Flores de Mayo celebrations religiously organised by young children is fascinating. A relation relates that during her grade school days, school children around the neighbourhood would gather every night during the month of May bringing the daily collection of all the varieties of flower petals that they could muster in a mini basket for their nightly celebrations of Flores de Mayo for the blessed Virgin Mary.
The small group of children at D. Silang street Flores de Mayo, was originally held in my moms next door neighbours lower ground floor garage which was an ideal place being spacious enough for children to hold the Flores. This was Don Pedro Berberabe’s parents ancestral home. Don Pedro himself had encouraged the children by being there himself on the first day of the Flores event until they moved their residence to Manila.
My Mom was merely five years in age when she joined the Flores de Mayo nightly event next door. In her fourth grade when due to renovations, they had to move a few houses away from their current home in the same block . They celebrated the Flores in their backyard behind their home. Together with her playmates in the neighbourhood, they organized the backyard Flores de Mayo celebrations.
Aunties and some parents tagged along with the children to help with the snacks and drinks as well as the singing and the setting up of furnishings. Chairs would be lined wup in two rows and children would be sitting as partners with the tiniest in front and the tallest at the back. The rosary would be said . After the rosary offerings of the flowers is done with everyone singing the Flores offering hymns.
Partners will be walking towards a makeshift altar carrying their tiny basket of flower petals. When they get to the front altar where our Lady’s image is, they bow in reverence. Then reaching for a handful of flower petals from their mini baskets and lifting their head simultaneously, they shower our Lady with handfuls of flower petals from their miniature baskets.
The Flores concludes with some refreshments and snacks contributed by the parents of the Flores “Turno.” of the night. End of the month for D. Silang street Flores ended with the party, games and contests where volunteers compete for the prize.
The children’s Flores events could be incomparable to big time celebrations in other parts of the province and the country as a whole where they have Santacruzan parading Reyna Elenas and other Reynas .
The D. Silang children’s Flores de Mayo could be a small time simple celebration among children, parents and neighbours yet it had accomplished the purpose of venerating our Lady of the Rosary , our Queen of all flowers and of the whole world. The offering of flowers to our Lady of the Rosary by children with such reverence is awe inspiring. The Holy Rosary prayed with dedication must have brought tons of peaceful feelings in the neighbourhood. This month with the world in a tense atmosphere, and with its fate in the balance, somewhere around the neighbourhoods around the world, children’s Holy Rosary daily offerings to our Lady could make a whole lot of difference.
Mary A. Quizon
yesteryears editorials
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