In the Philippines, there is an abundance of flowers during the month of May. The first of May is an important day throughout the Philippines as it heralds a merry month of fiestas, flowers, dainty maidens in pretty gown, and the twin processions of the Flores de Mayo and the Santacruzan.

Filipinos celebrate a tradition known as Flores de Mayo by a daily offering of flowers to the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus, throughout the month of May which climaxes on May 31 with a glittering procession of sagalas at a Santacruzan procession.

The Santacruzan is a Spanish legacy that commemorates the discovery of the True Cross by Reyna Elena or Queen Helena of Constantinople, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. According to legend, Constantine the Great was converted to the Christian faith through the vision of a flaming cross in heaven, which is said to have led him…