In the Philippines，May is a time of in tense festivity．All month，school children assemble bouquets1) and floral2) offerings and take them to church．Meanwhile，girls elected to serve as festival queens parade through the streets dressed in the national costume3)，the butter－fly－sleeved dress，surrounded by page boys，flower girls who scatter petals4)，and their relatives and neighbors who sing and chant Hail Marys．
