The festival is held mainly in the town of Lucban along with the towns of Tayabas, Sariaya, Gumaca, Tiaong and Lucena City in Quezon province on May 15 every year in honor of San Isidro de Labrador.
The tradition dates back to the 15th century when farmers used to offer their harvests at the foot of Mt. Banahaw, known to be the most sacred mountain in the country. As Catholicism took stronger hold, the offerings were transitioned to be done at the Church in honor of San Isidro de Labrador.
At the time, a parish priest would give a blessing for the farmers and the harvest that they brought. As time went on, the Church could no longer accommodate the growing number of farmers and harvest. The town then decided to display their harvests in their houses instead, and the priest goes around the community to provide his blessing. Thus, the annual festival was born. The word ‘pahiyas’ was derived from the word ‘payas’, which means decoration or to decorate.
When the festival takes place, people’s houses will be decorated with fruits, flowers, vegetables, and the famous kiping – a wafer made of rice and food coloring shaped in the form of a leaf. A contest is held to select the best-decorated houses and award prizes. The winners get different prizes every year, but most often would be a cash prize. Apart from holding a competition that chooses the house with the most creative design, the festival also included cultural shows, various contests, parades and exhibits that would boost the tourist of the town of Lucban. It was the idea of the Art Club of Lucban’s Founder and President Fernando Cadeliña Nañawa.
Instead of just putting the agricultural harvest in front of their door steps, the facade of each participating house also put commercial products such as hats, abaniko or hand-held fans, mats, bags, the famous Lucban longganisa (Filipino-style sausages)and of course, the kiping.
No Philippine festival is complete without a parade. At 2:00 PM, the parade starts from the church and goes down the main streets until they do a full circle. The parade is headed by “Parikitan”, coming from the word “marikit” or beautiful. It’s then followed by floats pulled by carabaos or water buffalos. Last come the giants, also called “higantes”. These are towering puppets, which was used to be made of papier-mache heads and bamboo frames. The modern higantes of Pahiyas are now made of fiberglass and aluminum frames.
