Rizal spent his childhood in Calamba, Laguna. He was educated by his mother and uncles, showing early talents in art, poetry, and drama. He was deeply religious but was also aware of the oppression of the Filipino people from a young age. An early childhood story of a moth that flew too close to a flame had a profound impact on Rizal and influenced his willingness to seek knowledge despite risks.

1. CHILDHOOD DAYS
IN CALAMBA

2. “Ah, tender childhood, lovely town, Rich
fount of my felicities.”
-Jose Rizal

3. Calamba, “Cradle of a Genius”
• North of the town spreads the Laguna de Bay, “a lake of poems and songs”,
with many sailboats gliding by the somnoient Talim island and numerous
birds flying in the azure skies
• Beyond the lake, to the far distance in the north is Antipolo, the famous
mountain shrine of the miraculous Lady of Peace and Good Voyage
• Calamba, with its fertile fields of rice and sugarcane, bananas, its singing
birds abounding in lake, river, and its lovely sunrises over lake and mountains,
and its charming panoramic views, is a fit place to nurture a growing a child

4. Earliest Childhood Memories
• He watched from his garden cottage, the culiauan, the maya, the maria-capra, the
martin, the pipit, and other birds, listening “with wonder and joy” to their twilight
songs
• The daily Angelus prayer. By nightfall, his mother gathered all the children at the
house to pray the Angelus
• He also remembered the happy moonlit nights at the azotea after the nightly rosary.
Stories about fairies, tales of buried treasure and trees blooming with diamonds, and
other fabulous stories.
• The nocturnal walk in the town, especially when there was a moon

5. The First Sorrow
• The Rizal children were bound together by ties of love and companionship
• The people of Calamba knew him as Pepe or Pepito
• He was closest to his older brother Paciano
• Of his sisters, Jose loved most the litte Concha (Concepcion). He was one year
older than Concha. Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness in 1865 when she was
only three years old
• “When I was four years old… I lost my little sister Concha, and then for the first
time I wept tears of love and grief” – Jose Rizal

6. Devoted Son of Church
• Young Rizal was a religious boy
• A scion of Catholic clan, born and bred in a wholesome atmosphere of
Catholicism, and possessed of an inborn pious spirit, he grew up as a good Catholic
• 3 – he began to take part in the family prayers
• 5 – he was able to read haltingly the Spanish family bible
• He loved to go to church, to pray, to take part in novenas, and to join the religious
processions
• Evidence of his fervent Catholic spirit is seen in the poems which he wrote during
his boyhood

7. Pilgrimage to Antipolo
• On June 6, 1868, Jose and his father left Calamba to go on a pilgrimage to Antipolo,
in order to fulfill his mother’s vow which was made when Jose was born. Doña
Teodora could not accompany them because she had just given birth to Trinidad
• It was the first trip of Jose across Laguna de Bay and his first pilgrimage to
Antipolo
• “With that pleasure I saw the sun rise! It was the first time I had seen the bright rays
strike, with dazzling effect, the rough surface of the vast lake” – Jose Rizal
• After praying at the shrine of the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his father went to
Manila, visited Saturnina (La Concordia College)

8. First Education from Mother
• Jose’s first teacher was his mother, a woman of good character and fine education, Doña
Teodora was a splendid teacher
• At the age of 3, Jose learned the alphabet and the prayers from her
• Seeing that her boy had a talent for poetry, she encouraged him to write poems
• Disciplined at the age of 5 when he refused to wear a sinamay camisa because it was coarse
and was scratchy to the skin
• At another time, while the parents were having their regular siesta, Jose and Josefa played in
the garden when Jose ignited a fuse attached to a bottle of powder which lead to an
explosion. Jose was spanked to discipline him.
• “Surely, a man owes everything to his mother, next to God.” –Jose Rizal

9. The Story of the Moth
• This story made the profoundest impression on him
• It's initially understood as a story of disobedience between a young lad and
his elder. You probably are familiar with what happened to the young moth
in the story. It got too attracted to the burning light of the oil lamp despite
warnings from the older moth not to get too close to the fire. So its wings
caught fire, burned and it died. While hearing the story from his mother,
Rizal was actually watching the moths flying around their table lamp. And it
indeed got too close to the fire and shared the fate of the young moth in the
story.

10. Application in Real Life
• Another angle that historians thought that could have affected Rizal's thinking was how daring
the moth became to go beyond the limits. To search for further knowledge outside the norms
and trying to go beyond its comfort zone while risking danger that goes with all of it. Which is
actually what happened to Rizal for knowing too much and saying too much that he gained the
ire of the nation's colonial government then which eventually put him to death.
• We can relate this to the usual overestimation of our own self-control. We always think that we
are above our urges. We supposedly are. Though being around the trigger is never a good thing to
test it. Just like how the moth enthralled by the beauty of the burning light, we will all get sucked
into the fire if we continuously play with it.
• It is like a temptation for a wrong relationship. Though fully aware of it being wrong, we hear
people saying they are just trying to be friendly. Ignoring the risk of getting deeper into it
thinking that they are in control, they continue with it. And then got burned later as expected.

11. Application in Real Life
• Then there are youth starting out with vices thinking that it's just part of their "growing up
years". Pressured by peers, they tried it while thinking they can easily get out after the first
try. They think they are strong and different. Because nothing happened at the first time,
they tried again. And again. And again. And they got burned.
• Then there's someone who gets a business proposal. An illegal one. Just a one-time big-time
thing as he's told. It will earn big bucks and very low risk of being caught at all. Salivating by
the idea of huge amounts of money, he jumped in. And it happened as promised. They
earned big and didn't get caught. After a while, he was asked for another shot. It was good at
first so the wall of hesitation slowly crumbled. Then it became a part of his system. He's
gaining big and not getting caught. Until he got burned.

12. Application in Real Life
• The burning light is beautiful, tempting, attractive but always dangerous. We think that we
are in control then we try to play around the fire until it becomes a habit too hard to break.
It is always too late to notice that families get broken, people get addicted to vices and illegal
doers get caught, arrested or get killed. It's always too late to realize that our wings are
already burning.
• I’m still trying to work around the kryptonites of my life. I guess I’ll simply accept that I’m
weak. If I’ll be more aware that I am too weak to face them or even just to get near them,
then I might just go avoiding them at all. At the onset, I’ll be staying away. Because I am
weak. And by being conscious of my weaknesses, it will now become a part of my strength.
• By the way, you can be the “older moth” and warn the others about the dangers of the fire by sharing this .

13. Rizal’s Three Uncles
• Brothers of his mother, played a great part in the early education of Rizal
(Gregorio, Jose, and Manuel Alberto)
• Uncle Gregorio – a lover of books, taught Jose to work hard, think for himself, and
to observe life keenly
• Uncle Jose – had been educated at Calcutta, India, youngest brother of Doña
Teodora, encouraged Rizal to paint, sketch, and sculpture
• Uncle Manuel – big, strong, and husky man, looked after the physical training of his
sickly and weak nephew, encouraged Rizal to learn swimming, fencing, wrestling,
and other sports

14. Artistic Talents
• He drew sketches and pictures on his books and on the books of his sisters, for which reason he
was scolded by his mother
• He carved figures of animals and persons out of wood
• Even before he learned how to read, he could already sketch pictures of birds, flowers, fruits,
rivers, mountains, animals and persons
• At one time, he painted in oil colors a banner to replace a spoiled banner used in fiesta
• He had the soul of a genuine artist
• He kept many statuettes which he made out of clay and wax (“Don’t you know that people will
erect monuments and statues in my honor in the future?” Rizal said to his sisters)
• Jose had a gift for magic

15. Prodigy of the Pen
• He was a born poet
• At an early age, he was already writing poems
• Sa Aking Mga Kabata – first known poem he wrote (to love our national
language)
• Before he was 8 years old, he wrote a Tagalog drama which was staged in
Calamba in connection with the town fiesta (script was bought for 2 pesos by
a gobernardorcillo and was staged during their fiesta celebration in their
town).

16. Lakeshore Reveries
• He used to meditate at the shore of Laguna de Bay on the sad conditions of his
oppressed people
• Young that he was, he grieved deeply over the unhappy situation of his beloved
fatherland
• When he became a man, many years later, he wrote to his friend, Professor
Blumentritt: “In view of these injustices and cruelties, although yet a child, my
imagination was awakened and I made a vow dedicating myself someday to avenge
the many victims. With this idea in my mind, I studied, and this is seen in all my
writings. Someday God will give me the opportunity to fulfill my promise.”

17. Influences on Hero’s Boyhood
• Hereditary Influence
• Malayan – passionate love for freedom and his serenity of life’s outlook
• Chinese – serious nature, frugality, patience, and love for children
• Spanish – elegance of bearing, sensitivity to insult, and gallantry to ladies
• Father – profound sense of self-respect, love for work, and the habit of independent
thinking
• Mother – religious nature, spirit of self-sacrifice, and the passion for arts and literature

18. Influences on Hero’s Boyhood
• Environmental Influence
• According to psychologists, environment, as well as heredity, affects the nature of a person
• The scenic beauties of Calamba and the beautiful garden of the Rizal family stimulated the
inborn artistic and literary talents of Jose Rizal
• The religious atmosphere at his home fortified his religious nature
• His brother Paciano instilled in his mind the value of brotherly love
• From his sisters, he learned to be courteous and kind to women
• The fairytales told by his aya during his early childhood awakened his interest in folklore and
legends

19. Influences on Hero’s Boyhood
• Environmental Influence
• His Uncle Gregorio taught him to love books
• His Uncle Jose inspired him to develop his artistic ability
• His Uncle Manuel taught him the importance of good health and sports
• From Father Leoncio Lopez, a parish priest of Calamba, he acquired the value of
intellectual honesty and the love for scholarship
• The sorrows in his family, such as the death of Concha in 1865 and the imprisonment
of his mother in 1872-1874 contributed to his melancholy temperament but helped to
strengthen his character enabling him to resist blows of adversity in later years

20. Influences on Hero’s Boyhood
• Environmental Influence
• The Spanish abuses and cruelties which he witnessed in his boyhood, such as the brutal
acts of the lieutenant of the Guardia Civil and the alcalde, the unjust tortures inflicted
on innocent Filipinos, and the execution of Fathers Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora,
awakened his spirit of patriotism and inspired him to dedicate his life to redeem his
oppressed people

21. Influences on Hero’s Boyhood
• Aid of Divine Providence
• Greater than heredity and environment in the fate of man
• A person may have everything in life – brains, wealth, and power – but, without the aid
of Divine Providence, he cannot attain greatness in the annals of the nation
• Rizal was providentially destined to be the pride and glory of our people
• God had endowed him with the versatile talents of a rare genius, the unsurpassed spirit
of nationalism, and the valiant heart to sacrifice himself for a noble cause
• He gave us this particular genius and hero during the darkest period of our history in
order that or suffering people might be emancipated from Spanish tyranny

22. References:
• https://theignoredgenius.blogspot.com/2013/01/rizals-mother-moth-story-
and-you.html
• Jose Rizal Life, Works, and Writings by Gregorio F. Zaide