SILVER SPRING, Maryland - It’s been called the “Mother of all Philippine festivals”. Carrying its infectious drumbeat and shouts of “hala bira!”, Fil-Americans from Washington D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia braved a light snow dusting and freezing temperatures to stage the Ati-Atihan and Sinulog here, marking the feast of the Sto. Niño.

The Christ the King Church community center was filled to capacity. Over a hundred Fil-Am devotees of the Sto. Niño or image of the Child Jesus, joined by curious American friends, celebrated the annual religious feast commemorating the Philippine’s conversion from paganism to Christianity in the 16th century.

“It is a very important Philippine tradition and our history,” said lawyer Arnedo Valera of the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC).

The ati-atihan is said to actually trace its roots back to the migration of Malay datus from Borneo to Panay Island in the 13th century. They bought some land from the Ati’s, Panay’s original inhabitants. The natives danced to celebrate the deal. The Sinulog festival in Cebu, Dinagyang in Iloilo and Maskarahan of Negros all share a common thread with the Ati-Atihan but the present-day religious significance of the feast draws from the conversion of Cebu’s Rajah Humabon to Christianity in April 1521.

Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan gifted Humabon’s wife with the Sto. Niño before he was slain by another Cebu chieftain, Lapu-Lapu. When the Spaniards returned in 1565 to resume their conquest, they found the natives revering the Sto. Niño, a relic of which was found in one of the homes they sacked. Friars accompanying the conquistadores declared the statue miraculous and built a church that still stands today.

“It is unique kasi ito lang ang nag-iisang event or feast that is sanctioned by the Vatican. And at the same time it is unique and special in the sense that the Philippines lang ang nagse-celebrate nito on a national scale,” Valera said.

But this Filipino feast is obviously going international as well. Groups like the Philippine-American Community Partnership Foundation (PACP), MHC and church-based Fil-Am organizations have been staging the ati-atihan and Sinulog for the past five years.

The Ati-Atihan and Sinulog are held every January, which is the height of winter in the US. So unlike in the Philippines where they are essentially street festivals, Fil-Ams here have to content themselves holding them indoors. They have become occasions to highlight Philippine culture – showcasing everything from the tinikling (with its traditional audience participation targeting American guests) to lumpia and adobo.

Last Saturday’s Ati-atihan And Sinulog was actually preceded by a similar event a hundred miles away, spearheaded by Aklanons in southern Virginia’s Hampton Roads area (Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake) and also a Philippine fiesta in honor of the Sto. Niño in Rockville, Maryland. The celebration here will culminate with a mass and blessing of Sto. Niño images sans the merrymaking at America’s largest church, the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. on Sunday (Jan. 27).

“This is a tradition that we have to be proud of and present to mainstream America because we have to show that Filipinos possess the innate human value of faith and commitment to God,” Valera said.

The MHC, he added, provides a Fil-Am participation in many American celebrations in DC, such as the Cherry Blossom festival and 4th of July Parade. The ati-atihan and Sinulog are one of the Fil-Am community events they promote there, Valera explained.

“Pinapakita natin that we’re proud of this because this is one way of promoting cultural diversity in a country most people regard as a nation of immigrants,” Valera declared.

Some Americans, especially those with Filipino families and friends, have become devotees of the Sto. Niño. They have attributed miracles – both big and small – to the Sto. Niño’s intercession.

But for African-American Christopher Queen, the festival is still a novelty. It’s the first time he’s seen the mardi gras-like celebration and thought it was part of a Philippine new year’s ritual. “It’s colorful, very traditional, very upbeat,” he observed. We asked him if he saw himself joining the celebration next year.

“If I’m invited, yes!”