The merry Mary month of May

Yes, the merry month of May is also Mama Mary’s month!

Many of us remember our own merry month of May, our summer vacation month, with much nostalgia. T’was the month of returning to hometowns, reunions, friendship, fiestas, and more!

Leaving behind the heat, the busy traffic, the complex, impersonal city, what a welcome respite to return to our quiet, simple, slow-paced but naturally beautiful hometown of Loay in Bohol!

Of course, as it was summer, the heat was there but this was mellowed by Bohol’s natural delights --the surrounding sea, the rivers, the fruit and other trees-- and the wholesome company of family, relatives, and friends!

The whole Borja-Gallardo clan, specifically the Ankan-ni Baning Family, always looked forward to happy reunions every summer vacation, especially for the Feast of the Holy Trinity or Santisima Trinidad!

Imagine about 50 persons cramped within the thee- or four-bedroom ancestral home of Nanay Baning (Doña Urbana Gallardo Vda. de Borja a.k.a. our Cleopatra)!

There was the daily race to the bathroom, or to the baybayon, and later, to the table --especially for the homemade chicharon and the torta!

But with our dear Tio Loloy and Tia Feling Gallardo from Cebu with us, no one ended up hungry at all (missing them and their family Mandaue and Sinulog celebrations too)!

Then there were the endless stories of how hard life was for the eight of 14 children of Nanay Baning, especially during World War II, the love stories, the laughter, the tears shared have remained etched in our hearts.

Across generations, from Nanay Baning, to her children, grandchildren, grand, grandchildren and more, thank God for those happy Loay May reunions, we have remained a closely-knit clan!

With friends whom we met only every May or for summer vacation, the nightly gatherings at the Parola at the boulevard were priceless.

In May, to the delight of our hearts, the evening skies of Loay were filled with stars, including even shooting stars!

Then, there were those thrilling, frightening, bicycle back-riding trips to the cemetery! And the wonderful harana and cancion of dear friends after midnight! Ah, so much happy memories of merry May in Loay!

Remembering and singing now with Barbara Streisand: “Memory, all alone in the moonlight, I can dream of the old days, Life was beautiful then. I remember the time I knew what happiness was, let the memory live again.”

May was also our Mary Month. There was the daily Flores de Mayo for children. Clad in white attire, with friends, we would scout around for flowers to offer to Mama Mary in the centuries-old Loay Church. Many of our neighbors may have wondered where all their flowers have gone.

Nanay Baning made sure we all were home by 6 p.m. for the Angelus and rosary, the family that prays together, stays together. With cousins and friends, we also prayed the Rosary for the Flores de Mayo and the big procession at the end of May.

As you may all know, these are the various feasts for Mama Mary in May: May 13 - Our Lady of Fatima, May 24 - Mary Help of Christians, and May 31 - The Visitation.

While celebrating Mama Mary, in other parts of the Philippines, May’s highlight is the Santacruzan, “a ritual pageant celebrating the Finding of the Holy Cross. Reynas ("queens"), are chosen to represent biblical figures and other traditional or allegorical figures from religious and national history (e.g. Reyna Emperatríz).

“The reynas, dressed in their finery and bearing attributes, walk through the town with male escorts. The Reyna Elena, representing Saint Helena, is the last and grandest, bears a crucifix and is escorted by a young boy playing Constantine.

“All participants walk under mobile arches festooned with flowers or other decorations connoting bounty.”