Like most festivals in the Philippines, the Sinulog Festival is celebrated in honor of a Catholic patron saint, in this case the Santo Nino, or the Child Jesus. However, it is believed that even before the Spaniards came to Cebu and converted the natives to Catholicism, they were already performing this dance ritual to their pagan gods, called anitos. The relic of the Santo Nino and its symbolism was given as a token by the Spaniards when they first arrived and since then, the Santo Nino has become part of the Sinulog dance ritual, thereby cementing the connection between the pagan gods and Catholicism.