Parayan Festival

Parayan Festival is a cultural festival, rice festival, and founding anniversary of the town of San Roque in the province of Northern Samar, Philippines every March 16. It is participated by constituent barangay units.

It is one of the cultural fests participating in Ibabao Festival.

History of Parayan Festival

Parayan Festival comes from the word parayan, which is a word in Waray that refers to rice harvest. It is marked as a thanksgiving, as a celebration of the farmers and their invaluable role to nation-building and economy, and a tourism activity. As a cultural event, it includes a dance showdown where gestures are taken from the way rice stalks sway in the wind and depict traditional way of planting rice as well as other agricultural crops. It is also offered to St. Isidore the Worker, the patron saint of farmers.

History of San Roque

San Roque belongs to the second legislative district in Northern Samar. It was called Lao-angan in the past and populated as early as 1762. There are records of the first individuals who settled in its surrounding areas beginning in 1801. It was then a visita and, in 1872, a barrio of Pambujan.

Towards the end of Spanish rule, prominent citizens created a plan to establish a township separate from Pambujan in 1896, but it was not fulfilled due to the outbreak of the revolution.

In the years of American occupation, an initiative to secede was once again introduced in 1907 and in 1916. The proposal failed, and in 1916 the provincial government of Samar raised an opposition. Only after half a century that it was again pushed through with the filing of House Resolution No. 1804.

On March 28, 1959, Republic Act No. 2102 otherwise known as An Act to Create the Municipality of San Roque in the Province of Samar was enacted. The town was also renamed from Lao-angan to San Roque. Parayan Festival commemorate March 16 as its founding day.

Parayan Festival Activities

Activities in Parayan Festival are joined by the different barangays that compose the town. They participate in the different events and contests that are slated in the festival calendar. Highlights include the parade, street dance, scarecrow contest, carabao contest, and booths that display the different proud products of each barangay. On the founding day, a mass is heard at San Roque Church and then events unfold in the primary thoroughfares of the town.

How to reach San Roque, Northern Samar

Book a flight to Catarman Airport and then take a land trip from Catarman to San Roque which is about 60 kilometers away.

References

• Festival. Municipal Government of San Roque. Retrieved October 13, 2022
• San Roque Northern Samar to hold its annual Parayan Festival and 60th Anniversary Foundation Day on March 16. Orange Magazine. March 6, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2022
• Mario Casayuran and Vanne Elaine Terrazola. 2 grand festivals slated in Northern Samar. Manila Bulletin. April 17, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2022
• N. Samar town showcases Parayan festival. Eastern Samar News Service. March 19, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2022
• Thanking God for good rice harvest. Journal.com.ph. March 7, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2022
• Vicariate of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. Diocese of Catarman. Retrieved October 13, 2022
• REPUBLIC ACT NO. 2102, March 28, 1959. Senate of the Philippines. Retrieved October 13, 2022

Parayan Festival Summary

Name	Parayan Festival
Celebration	Culture, Founding, Food, Rice, St. Isidore the Worker
Church	San Roque Church
Country	Philippines
Date	March 16
Email	srns.mayor@gmail.com
Facebook	web.facebook.com
Location	San Roque, Northern Samar
Organizer	Municipal Government of Northern Samar
Patron	St. Isidore the Worker
Religion	Roman Catholic
Website	sanroque-nsamar.gov.ph