Every month of May, Filipino towns burst into color with flowers, parades and prayers — but not all May festivities are created equal. Two beloved traditions often confused or merged into one are Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan. While they may overlap in spirit and celebration, their roots, meanings, and practices remain distinct.
Flores de Mayo—literally “Flowers of May” — is one of the Philippines’ most enduring Marian devotions. Celebrated throughout the month of May, especially in rural provinces and barangays, it honors the Blessed Virgin Mary through daily offerings of flowers, prayers, and songs in churches and chapels.
Introduced by Spanish missionaries during the Spanish colonial period, this devotion can be traced to the Baroque era when the Catholic Church emphasized Marian veneration. The original concept of a “Marian month” involved thirty days of spiritual reflection and practices focused on Mary’s virtues. In the Philippines, this blossomed—quite literally—into a floral celebration, with children and parishioners offering fresh blooms to statues of Mary, reciting the rosary, and participating in catechism sessions.
Flores de Mayo is a gentle, prayerful affair — marked more by its religious intention than by spectacle. It is particularly beloved for involving children, especially young girls dressed in white, who are taught to show reverence to the Virgin Mary from a young age.
On the other hand, Santacruzan is a culminating event typically held at the end of May. Unlike Flores de Mayo, which is purely Marian, Santacruzan is rooted in a historical-religious narrative — the legendary finding of the True Cross by Queen Helena (Reyna Elena), mother of Roman Emperor Constantine the Great.
This procession reenacts Helena’s journey to the Holy Land and the miraculous discovery of the Holy Cross. The event evolved into a community pageant that highlights various biblical and symbolic characters, all paraded in full regalia beneath decorated arches. These include Reyna Abogada (Queen Advocate),Reyna Justicia (Queen Justice), Reyna de las Flores (Queen of Flowers) and, most notably, Reyna Elena who holds a cross and is typically portrayed by a young lady of high regard in the community.
Despite its grandeur and the elegance of its participants, Santacruzan is not meant to be a mere fashion show or beauty contest. At its core, it is a solemn religious procession that combines Filipino religiosity with pageantry, drawing crowds into streets with colorful floats, marching bands, and devotion-filled fanfare.
While Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan both flourish in May and are often celebrated together, it’s important to recognize their unique significance. Flores de Mayo is a month-long act of Marian piety, while Santacruzan is a single-day reenactment of a key moment in Christian history.
Together, they reflect the richness of Filipino Catholic heritage — where faith, history and culture are gracefully intertwined in bloom, devotion and procession.