Jose Rizal’s

Childhood
 OUTLINE
3 years old 8 years old

5 years old

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 Jose Rizal had many beautiful
memories of his childhood in his
native town, Calamba. Its scenic
beauties and its industrious,
hospitable, and friendly folks
profoundly affected his mind and
character. The happiest period of
Rizal’s life was spent in this
lakeshore town.
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✣ The first memory of Rizal, in his
infancy, was in the family garden
when he was 3 years old. Because
he was a frail, sickly, and
undersized, he was given tenderest
care by his parents. His father built
a nipa cottage for him to play in the
daytime. 4
✣ Another childhood memory was
the daily Angelus prayer. By
nightfall, his mother gathers all
the children at the house to
pray the Angelus.
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✣ He also remembered the aya (nurse
maid) related to the Rizal children any
stories about the fairies, tales of the
buried treasure and trees blooming
with diamonds, and other fabulous
stories.

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Of his sisters, Jose loved most the
little Concha (Concepcion), who
was a year younger than him.
He played with her and from
her he learned the sweetness
of sisterly love.
✣ Unfortunately, Concha died of sickness
in 1865 when she was only 3 years
old. Jose cried bitterly at losing her.
The death of Concha brought him his
first sorrow.

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✣ Rizal grew up a good
catholic. At age of 3, he
would take part in the
family prayers. When
he was 5 years old, he
was able to read the
Spanish family bible.
✣ He loved to go to
church, to pray, to take
part in novenas, and to
join
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✣ One of the men he esteemed and
respect in Calamba was the scholarly
Father Leoncio Lopez, the town priest.
He used to visit him and listen to his
simulating opinions on current events
and sound philosophy of life.

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JUNE 6, 1866
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. After praying at the shrine of
the Virgin of Antipolo, Jose and his
father went to Manila to visit
Saturnina, who11was a boarding
✣ Of the stories told by Dona Teodora, Jose
remembered the Story of the Moth. The
tragic fate of the young moth, which “died a
martyr to its illusions”, left a deep impress
on Rizal’s mind. He justified such noble
death, asserting that “to sacrifice one’s life
for it”, meaning for an ideal, is “worthwhile”.
And, like that young moth, he was fated to
die as a martyr for a noble
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ideal.
✣ At age of 5, he began to make
sketches with his pencil and to
mold in his clay and wax
objects. Jose had the soul of
genuine artist. He also loved to
ride the pony that which his
father gave him and take long
walks in the meadows and
lakeshore with his black dog
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✣ Aside from his sketching and
sculpturing talent, Rizal possessed a
God-given gift for literature. At age of
8, Rizal wrote his first poem in the
native language entitled Sa Aking Mga
Kababata (To My Fellow Children).

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✣ After writing his first poem,
Rizal who was then 8 years old,
wrote his first dramatic work
which was a Tagalog comedy.

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✣ Rizal was also interested in magic. He
learned various tricks, such as making
a coin disappear and making a
handkerchief vanish in thin air. He
read many books on magic and attend
performances of the famous
magicians in the world.
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THANK YOU.
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