Harana (Serenade) - oil on canvas 24" x 32" by JBulaong 2016

#Harana #serenade #PhilippineCustom #PhilippineTradition #oiloncanvas #painting #JBulaong

vases of orchids photographed through glass window, florist's shop along George Street, Sydney 31st May 2007

Ultimately, Maytime in the Philippines is the cult of Mary: the pilgrimages to her shrines; the daily afternoon flower rites at her altars; and the Flores de Mayo, which is the Marian procession that closes the month. In the Middle Ages, with the invention in Europe of romantic love, there developed a romantic custom: noble ladies were, on certain occasions, offered crowns of flowers by their troubadours and vassals. This was also the time when the Virgin began to be called Our Lady and it was inevitable that the flower offering should become part of her cult. Such was the origin of the Flores de Mayo.

--- Nick Joaquin, Almanac For Manileños

round fruits for New Year's Eve celebration; a custom meticulously followed by my mother