Every 15th of May, townsfolk of Lucban, Quezon celebrate their town festival dubbed “Pahiyas.” Harvested rice, vegetables and fruits are displayed at the doorsteps of their houses where the procession route is designated. The most colorful, of course, is the “kiping,” a rice wafer molded from the leaves of the kapal plant. The colors of kipings vary from red, blue, green, orange and yellow. Lucbanons transformed these kipings into cascading chandeliers. Even pasted palay were made into chandeliers, too. A very unique idea.
The festival in Lucban was named after Saint Isidore (San Isidro Labrador), a devoutly religious Spanish farmer canonized in the year 1622. Thus, San Isidro Labrador is the patron saint of farmers. Lucban was also the birthplace of Apolinario dela Cruz or Hermano Puli (18151841) who wrote Cofra Dia De San Jose, a book on anti-Spanish government.
Trip to Lucban is synonymous to pancit habhab, a palatable noodle mixed with shrimp, pork, onion and garlic served on a palm-sized banana leaf cone and gently slide it down your throat sans pork and spoon. It is best to eat pancit habhab if you mixed it with a teaspoon drop of chili vinegar. Pancit habhab is sold at only R5 per order.
It was a unique spectacle to behold that afternoon. Fashion designers from Lucena, Tayabas, Sariaya and Lucban were invited to dress up the beauties and the local-town fashion models using raw materials from mats and banana trunks and other indigenous materials. Their shoes and parasol were made of those fibers too. They pit each other’s talent on the rare gowns they designed and executed.
The winner of the Bb. Lucban 2004 beauty pageant took the centerstage, with her runners-up Bb. Lucban Tourism 2004 and Bb. Lucban Pahiyas 2004, garbed in their colorful gowns along with their escorts.
Pahiyas is indeed a tourist attraction. People from Metro Manila flock to Lucban for this. Foreigners are captivated…awed at the unique display of harvested rice, bananas, tomatoes, garlic, onions, coconuts, ginger, sweet potatoes, among others.
But the most important ingredient of Pahiyas are the Lucban people themselves, their smiles, warmth and hospitality.
Lucban’s Pahiyas…. An expression of thanksgiving to God Almighty for an abundant harvest of the past year.
[ Lucban Town Wiki ]
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