Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he was overwhelmed during the city’s first Thanksgiving celebration at the Bacolod City Government Center last week.
Unlike the American holiday, which stems from a harvest feast after the Pilgrims settled in what would become the United States back in the 17th century, the local observance, created through an ordinance written by City Councilor Sonya Verdeflor, gathered various religious sects to celebrate the city.
“This is something overwhelming because we have seen for ourselves that we are indeed a mixture of culture, customs, traditions, and even religion,” Leonardia said.
The occasion gathered local religious leaders representing a variety of faiths, including the Diocese of Bacolod, the Bacolod Evangelical Church, the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Hare Krishnas, Islam, among others.
“It is not so often that we have these ‘holy men’ with us,” the mayor noted.
In addition to faith leaders, various members of the Bacolod City Sangguniang Panlungsod, along with former Bacolod City Mayor Luzviminda Valdez, addressed those gathered.
In addition to the ordinance, the mayor also issued an executive order creating a committee to oversee the celebration and declaring the observance a working holiday./WDJ
Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia said he was overwhelmed during the city’s first Thanksgiving celebration at the Bacolod City Government Center last week. (PIO photo)Bacolod City Councilor Sonya Verdeflor wrote the ordinance recognizing the fourth Thursday of November as Thanksgiving Day, a holiday typically celebrated in the United States. (PIO photo)Fr. Farley Ray Santillan, representing the Diocese of Bacolod, addressed those gathered at the Bacolod City Government Center last week to celebrate the city’s first Thanksgiving celebration. (PIO photo)Pastor Gaudencio Buque, Jr. of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church spoke during the Bacolod City Thanksgiving Day observance at the Bacolod City Government Center, last week. (PIO photo)Imam Omar Betita represented the local Muslim community during last week’s Thanksgiving Day observance at the Bacolod City Government Center. (PIO photo)Former Bacolod City Mayor Luzviminda Valdez addressed those gathered at the Bacolod City Government Center last week to celebrate the city’s first Thanksgiving celebration. (PIO photo)Jude Lourence Segovia of La Consolacion College-Bacolod, who served as “Boy Mayor” during last week’s annual Boys and Girls Week Celebration, offered a prayer during the Bacolod City Thanksgiving Day observance at the Bacolod City Government Center, last week. (PIO photo)
