Pasayaw Festival of Canlaon
The Pasayaw Festival is one of the most celebrated festivals in the city of Canlaon, Negros Oriental. This festival parades 12 contingents from the 12 different barangays of Canlaon City every year.
The Pasayaw Festival is usually celebrated on the days before or after the 19th of March. This festival started way back in the late 1980’s wherein the whole city first expressed their joy, jubilation and thanksgiving to the Almighty God through the intercession of St. Joseph the worker, who is their patron saint.
Since the early years of Filipino, ethnic groups and tribes use the art of dancing to express thanksgiving and worship, therefore early town’s people of Canlaon City find it appropriate to give thanks through dancing. Thus, Pasayaw Festival, a mashed-up word of “Pasalamat Pinaagi sa Sayaw” (which means thanksgiving through dancing), was created to praise God for all the blessings Canlaon City received.
Because of the continues abundant harvests of the city, which flooded farmer’s lands with crops and vegetables, Canlaon City became known as the vegetable basket and highland garden of Negros Oriental. In order to give thanks and praise to the Heavenly Father the festival was created.
This colorful festival showcases the different vegetables and crops accompanied by the rhythmic Latin or Samba beat to express their thanksgiving for another year of bountiful harvest.
The Pasayaw Festival is known as a traditional festival that combines history, religious traditions and social cultural materials with a touch of myth of two ill-starred lovers, namely Kan and Laon, who portray the triumph over violence and death.
After some generations have past, Canlaon City remained as the vegetable basket and the highland garden of Negros Oriental keeping their traditions and culture at its best and keeping Pasayaw festival a great trademark for the people of Canlaon.