Rizal Day
Encyclopedia
Rizal Day is a Philippine national holiday
commemorating the life and works of José Rizal
, one of the Philippines
' national heroes. It is celebrated every December 30, the day of Rizal's execution at Bagumbayan, now known as Rizal Park
, in 1896.
Emilio Aguinaldo
dated December 30, 1898 as a national day of mourning for Rizal and all victims of the Spanish government during their rule in the Philippines. Daet
, Camarines Norte
was the first town to follow the decree, building a monument designed by Lt. Col. Antonio Sanz, led by Sanz and Lt. Col. Ildefonso Alegre, and financed by the townfolk at Camarines Norte and the rest of the Bicol Region
. Finished on February 1899, the three-tiered stone pylon inscribing Rizal's novels Noli Me Tangere
and El Filibusterismo
, and Morga, for Antonio de Morga
, author of Sucesos de las islas Filipinas, a book about the early days of the Spanish colonization in the Philippines.
With the victory of the Americans against the Spaniards in the Spanish-American War
, the Americans took control of the Philippines. To make it appear that they were more pro-Filipino than the Spaniards, the American governor-general William Howard Taft
in 1901 named Rizal as the Philippine national hero. A year later, on February 1, 1902, the Philippine Commission
enacted Act No. 345, which made December 30 a public holiday.
To underscore the solemnity of the event, President Elpidio Quirino
signed into law Republic Act No. 229 on June 9, 1948 that prohibits cockfighting, horse racing and jai-alai every December 30.
declared through Commonwealth Act No. 184 the adoption of Tagalog
as the national language. Under Japanese occupation during World War II
, the Rizal Day program of 1942 attended by Benigno Aquino, Sr, and President Jose P. Laurel
included the recital of Rizal's final poem Mi último adiós
in Japanese
and the inauguration of the KALIBAPI
.
Starting in 1936, Rizal Day was also the inauguration day of the incoming president. Presidents usually chose Independence Grandstand (now known as Quirino Grandstand) as the inauguration venue because it faces the spot where Rizal was buried, and also the site of the independence ceremony in 1946, according to historian Manuel L. Quezon III
. In the inauguration of Ramon Magsaysay
after winning the 1953 presidential election
via a landslide, around 300,000 to 500,000 people attended the ceremonies.
In the centenary of Rizal's death on December 30, 1996, the program included retracing Rizal's footsteps from his cell at Fort Santiago
to the spot where he was executed, followed by the reenactment of his execution and flag-raising at Rizal Park
.
On December 30, 2000, in what was subsequently called as the "Rizal Day bombings
," Muslim separatists bombed five areas in Metro Manila
that caused 22 deaths and about a hundred injured.
and New Year's Day
, National Historical Commission chairperson Ambeth Ocampo
pushed for the moving of Rizal Day from December 30 to June 19, Rizal's birth. This would allow students to participate in commemoration activities as opposed to it being held on December 30 which is in the middle of the Christmas vacation. The House of Representatives
approved on its third reading a bill that would have changed it to June 19 on December 10, 2008, but was not acted in time by the Senate
after the 14th Congress
ended its session and was thus not enacted.
On April 29, 2011, President
Benigno Aquino III
officially declared June 20 a special non-working holiday in commemoration of Rizal's 150th Birthday. It is unknown, though, whether the move will be permanent.
Public holidays in the Philippines
-Regular and Special Holidays:-Other Holidays:* Constitution Day - A non-working holiday on February 2, 2002, in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the approval of the 1987 Philippine constitution....
commemorating the life and works of José Rizal
José Rizal
José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
, one of the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
' national heroes. It is celebrated every December 30, the day of Rizal's execution at Bagumbayan, now known as Rizal Park
Rizal Park
Rizal Park, also known as Luneta Park or colloquially Luneta, is a historical urban park located in the heart of the city of Manila, Philippines, adjacent to the old walled city of Manila, now Intramuros. Since the Spanish Colonial Era, the park has been a favorite spot for unwinding, socializing,...
, in 1896.
History
Rizal Day was first instituted with a decree from PresidentPresident of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo
Emilio Aguinaldo y Famy was a Filipino general, politician, and independence leader. He played an instrumental role during the Philippines' revolution against Spain, and the subsequent Philippine-American War or War of Philippine Independence that resisted American occupation...
dated December 30, 1898 as a national day of mourning for Rizal and all victims of the Spanish government during their rule in the Philippines. Daet
Daet, Camarines Norte
Daet, also known as the "Gateway to Bicolandia". A 1st class municipality in the province of Camarines Norte, Philippines. It is the capital municipality of Camarines Norte. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 94,184 or 18.33% of Camarines Norte's population. The current mayor of...
, Camarines Norte
Camarines Norte
Camarines Norte is a province of the Philippines located in the Bicol Region in Luzon. Its capital is Daet and the province borders Quezon to the west and Camarines Sur to the south.-Demographics:...
was the first town to follow the decree, building a monument designed by Lt. Col. Antonio Sanz, led by Sanz and Lt. Col. Ildefonso Alegre, and financed by the townfolk at Camarines Norte and the rest of the Bicol Region
Bicol Region
The Bicol Region or Bicolandia is one of the 17 regions of the Philippines. Its regional center is Legazpi City...
. Finished on February 1899, the three-tiered stone pylon inscribing Rizal's novels Noli Me Tangere
Noli Me Tangere (novel)
Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
and El Filibusterismo
El filibusterismo
El filibusterismo , also known by its English alternate title The Reign of Greed, is the second novel written by Philippine national hero José Rizal. It is the sequel to Noli Me Tangere and like the first book, was written in Spanish. It was first published in 1891 in Ghent, Belgium...
, and Morga, for Antonio de Morga
Antonio de Morga
Antonio de Morga Sánchez Garay was a Spanish lawyer and a high-ranking colonial official in the Philippines, New Spain and Peru. He was also a historian. He published the book Sucesos de las islas Filipinas in 1609, one of the most important works on the early history of the Spanish colonization...
, author of Sucesos de las islas Filipinas, a book about the early days of the Spanish colonization in the Philippines.
With the victory of the Americans against the Spaniards in the Spanish-American War
Spanish-American War
The Spanish–American War was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence...
, the Americans took control of the Philippines. To make it appear that they were more pro-Filipino than the Spaniards, the American governor-general William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
in 1901 named Rizal as the Philippine national hero. A year later, on February 1, 1902, the Philippine Commission
Philippine Commission
The Philippine Commission was a body appointed by the President of the United States to exercise legislative and limited executive powers in the Philippines. It was first appointed by President William McKinley in 1901. Beginning in 1907, it acted as the upper house of a bicameral Philippine...
enacted Act No. 345, which made December 30 a public holiday.
To underscore the solemnity of the event, President Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Quirino
Elpidio Rivera Quirino was a Filipino politician, and the sixth President of the Philippines.A lawyer by profession, Quirino entered politics when he became a representative of Ilocos Sur from 1919 to 1925. He was then elected as senator from 1925–1931...
signed into law Republic Act No. 229 on June 9, 1948 that prohibits cockfighting, horse racing and jai-alai every December 30.
Rizal Days in history
On his Rizal Day address on December 30, 1937, President Manuel L. QuezonManuel L. Quezon
Manuel Luis Quezón y Molina served as president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1944. He was the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines...
declared through Commonwealth Act No. 184 the adoption of Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
as the national language. Under Japanese occupation during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Rizal Day program of 1942 attended by Benigno Aquino, Sr, and President Jose P. Laurel
Jose P. Laurel
José Paciano Laurel y García was the president of the Republic of the Philippines, a Japanese-sponsored administration during World War II, from 1943 to 1945...
included the recital of Rizal's final poem Mi último adiós
Mi último adiós
"Mi último adiós" is a poem written by Philippine national hero José Rizal on the eve of his execution on December 30, 1896. Although the poem was untitled, this title served as an artifice useful as a quick reference. This poem was one of the last notes he wrote before his execution...
in Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
and the inauguration of the KALIBAPI
KALIBAPI
The Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas , or KALIBAPI, was a Filipino political party that served as the sole party of state during the Japanese occupation...
.
Starting in 1936, Rizal Day was also the inauguration day of the incoming president. Presidents usually chose Independence Grandstand (now known as Quirino Grandstand) as the inauguration venue because it faces the spot where Rizal was buried, and also the site of the independence ceremony in 1946, according to historian Manuel L. Quezon III
Manuel L. Quezon III
Manuel Luis "Manolo" Quezon III is a Filipino writer, television host and grandson of President Manuel L. Quezon.Quezon's adopted father was Manuel L. "Nonong" Quezon, Jr. He is a columnist and editorial writer for the Philippine Daily Inquirer and the host and writer of The Explainer on the...
. In the inauguration of Ramon Magsaysay
Ramon Magsaysay
Ramón del Fierro Magsaysay was the third President of the Republic of the Philippines from December 30, 1953 until his death in a plane crash in 1957. He was elected President under the banner of the Nacionalista Party.-Early life:Ramon F...
after winning the 1953 presidential election
Philippine presidential election, 1953
Presidential, legislative and local elections were held on November 10, 1953 in the Philippines. Incumbent President Elpidio Quirino lost his opportunity to get a second full term as President of the Philippines to former Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay. His running mate, Senator Jose Yulo lost...
via a landslide, around 300,000 to 500,000 people attended the ceremonies.
In the centenary of Rizal's death on December 30, 1996, the program included retracing Rizal's footsteps from his cell at Fort Santiago
Fort Santiago
Fort Santiago is a defense fortress built for Spanish conquistador, Miguel López de Legazpi. The fort is part of the structures of the walled city of Intramuros, in Manila, Philippines. José Rizal, the Philippines' national hero, was imprisoned in the fort before his execution in 1896...
to the spot where he was executed, followed by the reenactment of his execution and flag-raising at Rizal Park
Rizal Park
Rizal Park, also known as Luneta Park or colloquially Luneta, is a historical urban park located in the heart of the city of Manila, Philippines, adjacent to the old walled city of Manila, now Intramuros. Since the Spanish Colonial Era, the park has been a favorite spot for unwinding, socializing,...
.
On December 30, 2000, in what was subsequently called as the "Rizal Day bombings
Rizal Day bombings
The Rizal Day bombings, also referred to as the December 30 bombings, were a series of bombings that occurred around Metro Manila in the Philippines on December 30, 2000. The explosions occurred in close succession within a span of a few hours...
," Muslim separatists bombed five areas in Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
that caused 22 deaths and about a hundred injured.
Changing the day of commemoration
Being that December 30 is sandwiched between ChristmasChristmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
and New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
, National Historical Commission chairperson Ambeth Ocampo
Ambeth Ocampo
Ambeth R. Ocampo is a multi-awarded Filipino historian, academic, journalist, and author best known for his writings about Philippines' national hero José Rizal and for "Looking Back", his bi-weekly editorial page column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer...
pushed for the moving of Rizal Day from December 30 to June 19, Rizal's birth. This would allow students to participate in commemoration activities as opposed to it being held on December 30 which is in the middle of the Christmas vacation. The House of Representatives
House of Representatives of the Philippines
The House of Representatives of the Philippines is the lower chamber of the...
approved on its third reading a bill that would have changed it to June 19 on December 10, 2008, but was not acted in time by the Senate
Senate of the Philippines
The Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...
after the 14th Congress
14th Congress of the Philippines
The Fourteenth Congress of the Philippines was the national legislature of the Republic of the Philippines, composed of the Philippine Senate and House of Representatives...
ended its session and was thus not enacted.
On April 29, 2011, President
President of the Philippines
The President of the Philippines is the head of state and head of government of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of the Philippine government and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines...
Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Aquino III
Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III , also known as Noynoy Aquino or PNoy, is a Filipino politician who has been the 15th and current President of the Philippines since June 2010....
officially declared June 20 a special non-working holiday in commemoration of Rizal's 150th Birthday. It is unknown, though, whether the move will be permanent.