By Armando Machado

The author, who writes for The Catholic Northwest Progress, www.seattlearch.org/progress, is originally from Panama. Raised in New York, he has been in western Washington State since 1987.

Bellingham, WA — Pilar Lim was happy to share her traditional Filipino celebration honoring Blessed Mother Mary with members of other cultures within the Assumption Parish community.

Unity with other cultures

‘It is the tradition in our country — and here we have unity with other cultures,’ Pilar said Sunday morning shortly before the start of the parish's annual Flores de Mayo celebration, which drew several hundred people.

A longtime Assumption parishioner, Pilar works as a volunteer at the event each year. She said she is thankful for the parish's support, and for the loving leadership of head organizer Filipino-born Cris Finnigan — a fellow longtime parishioner.

Different colors, one faith

Also at the celebration was Jose Cruz, 36, who helped carry a statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe during a brief procession that preceded a regularly scheduled Spanish Mass. That statue was part of the event to acknowledge the Hispanic community, with a statue of Our Lady of Lourdes for the Filipino community, and of Our Lady of La Vang for the Vietnamese community.

‘This is a very good thing — that the Filipino community here has invited us all to celebrate their tradition,’ said the Mexican-born Cruz. ‘The Catholic traditions in Mexico and the Philippines are very similar. We have a lot in common.’

He said it was a pleasure for him to volunteer for the event and to learn more about the ways Filipinos celebrate their Catholic faith traditions. And like Pilar Lim, he noted Cris Finnigan's hard work as lead organizer of Flores de Mayo and other annual Filipino faith-based events at Assumption. Cruz's 15-year-old stepdaughter, Brittany Self, was part of the procession, portraying one of the several reynas (queens).

Devotion to Our Lady

Spanish missionaries introduced the Flores de Mayo during their country’s occupation of the Philippines, according to written material prepared by Cris Finnigan and other organizers. In the Philippines, it’s a month-long celebration every May in honor of the Virgin Mary. Traditionally, Filipinos pray during the celebration for a variety of intentions — for rain because of the hot and dry weather, for a good harvest, and for a good marriage, the written material states.

Following tradition, sagalas (young girls dressed in white) bring flowers, pray the rosary and sing hymns to a statue of Mary, usually Our Lady of Lourdes. At month's end, after the sun has set, the statue is mounted on a carosa (carriage) bedecked with flowers and paraded around the city with a band, with procession participants carrying lighted candles and the young girls carrying baskets of flowers.

Multicultural banquet

After Sunday's 12:30pm Mass, the celebration featured a multicultural potluck in the Assumption School gym, as well as performances that included Filipino, Mexican, Vietnamese, Irish and Scottish music and dancing. Father John Francis Bentley was celebrant of the Spanish Mass, which had a Flores de Mayo theme and was tinged with Tagalog, the main Filipino language, and Vietnamese. The event began several years ago at Sacred Heart Parish in Bellingham, but was moved to Assumption Parish in 2002 — making Sunday's gathering the third annual Flores de Mayo celebration at Assumption.

‘We got such a positive response from everyone — and there was plenty of food,’ Cris Finnigan said. ‘It's beautiful when you're able to draw from other communities and celebrate our diversity, all in the name of Christ and the Virgin Mary.’

http://www.seattlearch.org/FormationAndEducation/Progress/052004/20040527_FloresdeMayo.htm