Sinulog is a festival held annually on January on the third Sunday. It is celebrated in Cebu and Maasin City in Philippines. It is the Bisayan people's way of honoring their pagan origin along with their conversion to the Catholic faith. According to history when Ferdinand Magellan arrived in Cebu he succeeded in convincing the Datu Humabon into accepting the Roman Catholic faith along with his wife Hara Amihan and about 800 natives of the land. Because of this he gave them the Santo Nino or the child image of Jesus as a gift for their conversion . He handed the gift to Hara who was named Queen Juana after the mother of Carlos I. It is believed that when Queen Juana received the Santo Nino she danced with joy while holding the gift. Her people then followed her example and so that moment was considered the first Sinulog.

Since then the love of the people towards the Santo Nino has kept on growing especially in the Visayas. THrough the years it became a yearly pilgrimage for Catholics. Christians went on a journey to visit the church and participate in the festival. In 1980 the local government of Cebu City encouraged tribal dancers to participate in the now organized Sinulog Festival. It was officially held in that year and performed by students wearing Moro outfits and dancing to the rhythm of drums. The event was organized by David Odilao who was then the Director of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Development. Later on it caught the attention of the City Mayor Florentino Solon. He charged the Cebu Historical Committee on conceptualizing the festival and turning it into an official yearly event.

The festival is a procession of street parades and dances moving with music made up of gongs and drums. The participants wear varieties of bright colored costumes. There are also smaller versions of this commemoration being held in different parts of the province where they celebrate the Santo Nino. One of these is the Sinulog sa Kabataan which is performed by the youngsters of Cebu 7 days before the parade begins. At present the Sinulog festival has become a tourist attraction which includes contests that feature contestants participating from all over the country.

The Sinulog has 9 days of celebration with a Sinulog Grand Parade on its final day. On the day prior to the last parade the Fluvial Procession takes place. This is observed at dawn. The Santo Nino statue is placed and transferred on a pump boat from Mandaue to Cebu City. The pump boat is decorated with thousands of flowers. The procession is then concluded in Basilica where the acceptance of Christianity in Cebu is re-enacted by performers. Afterwards a quiet procession is observed in the afternoon on the major streets of the city. This takes hours due to mass numbers of the participants.

The difference between the Sinulog and other festivals is that the rituals that take place during the event is not the focal point of the event. The Sinulog rather focuses on the dance and what it represents. The purpose of the procession is to reminisce and commemorate the meaning of the dance which is the reaction of the Filipino people to Philippine's acceptance of Christianity.