Another fiesta to watch out for is the Santa Nena Caracol.
Thank God that one of the Caracol celebrations of Santa Nena fell on a Sunday. For your knowledge, the word "Caracol" means "Snail" or "At a snail's pace" in Spanish. It is a term widely used when parading religious images in the Philippines, because it follows the movement of a snail. In the Philippines, the Caracol is merry dancing of the santo's. This kind of religious procession is a popular practice in Cavite.
This celebration is in honor of the Kawit's patron, Santa Maria Magdelana (Mary Magdalene). This centuries-old, life size image has a unique feature-a mark in the middle of the forehead. Nobody knows what the mark represents. Others would say that it is a symbolic mark of Jesus' fingertip when He had appeared to Mary Magdalene. The image is a detailed wooden sculpture, carved hair and clothing. It holds a crucifix on the left hand and a jar of perfume on the right. The detailed carving could not be seen because by tradition, the image is garbed with a gown.
Another distinct feature of this image is that she wears a pair of shoes. According to the locals, Santa Nena has 2 pairs of shoes, a gold and a silver pair. They say that you can offer wishes to Santa Nena during her fiesta. If she is wearing the gold pair, then your wish will come true. Since Santa Nena is dressed with a long gown, you cannot see the pair of shoes she is wearing-really mysterious!
On normal days, you can visit her at the Kawit Church. The image is just at the left side altar.
Happy Caracol Santa Nena de Kawit!
Thank God that one of the Caracol celebrations of Santa Nena fell on a Sunday. For your knowledge, the word "Caracol" means "Snail" or "At a snail's pace" in Spanish. It is a term widely used when parading religious images in the Philippines, because it follows the movement of a snail. In the Philippines, the Caracol is merry dancing of the santo's. This kind of religious procession is a popular practice in Cavite.
This celebration is in honor of the Kawit's patron, Santa Maria Magdelana (Mary Magdalene). This centuries-old, life size image has a unique feature-a mark in the middle of the forehead. Nobody knows what the mark represents. Others would say that it is a symbolic mark of Jesus' fingertip when He had appeared to Mary Magdalene. The image is a detailed wooden sculpture, carved hair and clothing. It holds a crucifix on the left hand and a jar of perfume on the right. The detailed carving could not be seen because by tradition, the image is garbed with a gown.
Another distinct feature of this image is that she wears a pair of shoes. According to the locals, Santa Nena has 2 pairs of shoes, a gold and a silver pair. They say that you can offer wishes to Santa Nena during her fiesta. If she is wearing the gold pair, then your wish will come true. Since Santa Nena is dressed with a long gown, you cannot see the pair of shoes she is wearing-really mysterious!
On normal days, you can visit her at the Kawit Church. The image is just at the left side altar.
Happy Caracol Santa Nena de Kawit!