Peñafrancia Festival of Naga City

Peñafrancia Festival of  Naga City

Oxford

Q1.Who are the Franciscans?

Franciscan /fran"sIsk(@)n/

· n. a monk, nun, or lay member of a Christian religious order following the rule of St Francis of Assisi.

· adj. of St Francis or the Franciscans.

Q1-1 What is the meaning of the word Peñafrancia with regards to September  festival in honour of Nuestra Señora de (“Our Lady of”) Peñafrancia in Naga city? 

Peñafrancia - Is a street in Naga city . It could also mean Circle of Francia . Our lady of Peñafrancia is the Spanish Version of Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. In the ancient time in the Visayas region in the Philippines ,Visayas Island  was a part of Shrii Vijaya Empire(that of India) . To propagate Christianism Spanish colonizer tried to burn down  two statues one is that which is made of stone and the Lord Shiva statue( history shows a Lord Shiva statue was found in the Visayas region) which is made of gold. Naturally the gold have melted down  and another thing  the Spanish statue they burned  was similar to that of Lord Shiva, Spanish officials seeing the similarity , were overwhelmed ,suddenly felt nostalgic  and sentimental about it and they have tears of joy . And Stone statue remains. Since then native population became converts , also off course it was either one  kiss the cross or die in their swords.

Etymology

Peña is a Spanish word that means group or circle

Francia refers to  a French empire  specifically the Carolingian empire .

 Naga city was strongly influenced by Spanish Culture through Spanish colonization, name such as Carolina , Peñafrancia and other Spanish names were used to name people,places and streets.

2. Britannica

Naga city, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It is situated along the Bicol River, south of San Miguel Bay. Founded in 1573 as Nueva Caceres by the Spaniards, it is the site every September of a festival in honour of Nuestra Señora de (“Our Lady of”) Peñafrancia, the patroness of the Bicol Peninsula. Naga has a large cathedral and is the seat of a bishopric. The University of Nueva Caceres (1948) is located there. The city is a regional commercial and agricultural centre; it is a major stop on the Manila-South Railroad and a major road junction, and it has an airport. Mount Isarog National Park is nearby. Inc. city, 1948. Pop. (2000) 137,810.

3. Encarta

Charlemagne’s reign quickly became encrusted by legend, which scholars, without denying its very real achievements, are still trying to detach from the reality. Charlemagne’s impact on the development of a French national consciousness was limited. He stimulated the growth of cultural and political institutions throughout his empire. But Charlemagne did not directly promote either a specific French or German identity; such terms had little meaning in his period. The name Francia—precursor of France—was used, but it referred to the entire Carolingian empire

( 

Carolingian /%kar@"lIndZI@n/ (also Carlovingian)

· adj.

1 relating to or denoting the Frankish dynasty founded by Charlemagne’s father (Pepin III), which ruled in western Europe from 750 to 987.

2 denoting a minuscule script developed in France during the time of Charlemagne, on which modern lower-case letters are largely based.

· n. a member of the Carolingian dynasty.

– ORIGIN alt. of earlier Carlovingian, by assoc. with med. L. Carolus ‘Charles’.

 )

outside Italy (northern and central Italy fell under Charlemagne’s control after he defeated the Lombards in 773-774), not a more limited region within the empire.

4.

Peña

feminine rock

cliff, crag

(persons) group, circle

Translation dictionaries © 2000 C. Langenscheidt KG Berlin and Munich.