EDITORIAL - A sacrifice worth making

Yesterday, as is our tradition every third Sunday of January, Cebuanos were supposed to celebrate the Pontifical Mass of the Fiesta Señor, to be followed by the grand parade and ritual showdown of the Sinulog festivities.

The grand parade and ritual showdown, in particular, have become somewhat of a tradition. From humble beginnings as a small parade joined only by local contingents dancing in the downtown area, it has grown into a huge event with participants coming not just from other parts of the country, but also abroad.

The prizes have also gotten bigger and bigger, attracting even more and more talent to join, and creating local legends among contingents, dancers, and choreographers.

The Sinulog festival has become so famous the world over that local and foreign visitors come to watch and take part in the celebrations. Attendance is so huge that hotels get fully booked. Aside from the parade crowd, there are still enough people to attend parties and activities scheduled by different establishments.

However, it was not to be this year. Authorities rightly judged that holding the festivities and inviting mass gatherings was not the way to go. Streets usually crowded with people watching performers were almost empty. Hotels didn’t experience the usual full capacity. Businesses that usually made a killing at this time didn’t even open.

It may feel painful for some people not to experience what they have been used to doing for so many years now, whether they wanted to worship the Holy Child, watch the ritual showdown, or just join in the celebration.

However, at this time, it is a sacrifice worth making.

Following the worldwide shutdown last year because of the pandemic, we are still not out of the woods yet. We only have to look at the numbers of infected here rising again to confirm this. And with a new variation threatening to become more prevalent than the common COVID-19 strain, we should be all the more wary.

Our foregoing of our yearly tradition this year is a small price to pay to ensure our survival. There is always next year, if all goes well.