Jersey City honors Rizal on his 160th birthday

Members of the Knights of Rizal laying a wreath at the Jersey City, New Jersey statue of the Philippine national hero. FACEBOOK

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey – A wreath-laying at the local statue of Philippine national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal honored his 160th birthday on June 19th.

Knights of Rizal members held the rite at the statue dedicated to Rizal located in the small park at Christopher Columbus Drive and Brunswick. The organization has hosted the commemoration since the unveiling of the park with Rizal’s statue in 2000. A new statue replaced the old one in 2016.

The KOR-NJ council of elders is part of the order of knighthood in the Philippines which was created to honor Rizal who was executed by the Spanish colonial government in the Philippines in 1896.

Earlier, on June 7, Jersey City honored Philippine Independence with a flag raising ceremony.

Philippine Independence Day is officially on June 12. The day commemorates the declaration of Philippine independence from Spain in 1898.

Through the 1900s, the Philippines was a U.S. territory, until July 4, 1946, when it was granted full independence by the United States.

The Jersey City flag raising was attended by the City Council and hosted by the Jersey City office of Cultural affairs. The ceremony was attended by officials of the Philippine Consulate General, Philippine American Friendship Community and members of the Filipino community in Jersey City.