Quiapo bustles with breathless anticipation, as people from all walks of life join in the Feast of Santo Niño, a colorful and jovial celebration of the Child Jesus, every January. Specifically in Manila, devotees celebrate the feast of Santo Niño every second or third week of January. It is a grand procession of over 200 well-dressed images of the Child Jesus. People bring out their images or statues of the Sto. Niño and join the procession that traverses the vast Quiapo district. The statues are garbed in multicolored clothes embellished with intricate designs. Devotees who participate in the procession say prayers communicated to the Sto. Niño. They are confident of obtaining the most favorable response and blessings from the beloved Holy Child.

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          According to Philippine Primer, Santo Niño is the oldest and the most recognizable religious image in the Philippines. It was first brought to the archipelago by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Magellan’s clerk, Antonio Pigafetta, gave it to the local tribe queen Juana as a baptismal gift.

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          For more than 400 years, Filipino Catholics have been practicing the Sto. Niño devotion, from Cebu down south to the capital of Manila, where one finds Quiapo.

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          According to Fr. Delfo Canceran, OP (2016):

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Santo Nino reminds the devotees of their childhood which reminds them that they are not only fixated in the isolated image but are drawn to a relationship in the family. This relationship is experiential since they all come from a family that provides solace and affection. The devotion to Santo Nino brings them back to that primary relationship within the family that they long to relive.