It’s Holy Week once more, one of the most revered weeks by
majority of the Filipinos who are more than 80% Catholics. Holy Week
commemorates the days leading to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
starting from Palm Sunday up to Easter Sunday. There are several traditional
practices that Filipinos have inherited from Spain. Some of these that we
observe are the ‘Visita Iglesia’, padasal (marathon prayers), procession and our family Black
Saturday swimming.
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| Image: Life-size statues of Jesus. |
Visita Iglesia. ‘Visita Iglesia’ is
also called Seven Churches Visitation. The general practice is to visit seven
churches either on Holy Thursday or Good Friday and recite the Stations of the Cross. The pious would
double the number of churches to fourteen, while the infirm and elderly usually
visit only one or a handful. Until the 1970s, people recited all fourteen
stations in one church (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Churches_Visitation).
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| Station VIII - Jesus meets the pious women of Jerusalem: The weeping women met you, With tears they mourn your pain, May we, too, weep copiously, And never sin again. |
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| Leo with the breath-taking view of Lucban, Quezon (Background) on top of Kamay ni Hesus stations of the cross. |
Aside from the sacrifice, you will be rewarded with a
breath-taking view of Lucban, Quezon (above). We found out that it was more solemn to
pray if it were not Holy Week, where people were not too many.
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| L (standing): Sonny; L_R (Sitting) Mey, Jo Ann, adventurousPinay. |
Padasal. Jo Ann, my best buddy, invites us on Holy Fridays to their annual
‘padasal’ (marathon prayer) as thanksgiving for all the blessings and also, as prayers
for the dead. Last year, two other high school classmates were able to make it
to the padasal, Mey and Sonny. This occasion always serves for us to renew our
friendship, specially, for those who are not always in the country like Sonny,
a ship captain.
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| Food is meat-less and confined to sea foods and vegetables. |
Any Philippine holiday would not be complete without
a feast. As is the custom during Holy Week, no meat is allowed, except sea
foods. We love sea foods, so no complaints here.
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| First in line of Saints during the Aglipayan church procession, Santa Cruz, Laguna. |
Procession. Catholics and Aglipayans are very much
alike in their celebration of the Holy Week. On Good Friday, a grand procession (above) is held as a religious fervor where devotees grandly adorn their floats and
dress-up their wooden or resin images of saints.
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| Floats are colorful and richly decorated. |
I remember as a child, together
with my sister and cousins that we dressed up and joined the procession on Good
Fridays. As an adult, I simply watch the procession and not walk around town
anymore.
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| Family tradition of swimming every Black Saturday. |
Swimming. This is not necessarily a
Catholic tradition, but my mother’s side of the family always goes swimming on
Black Saturday. We progressed from swimming in Balanac River in Pagsanjan, to
the hot springs in Los Baños, and later in the hot springs in Pansol, Calamba.
We rent private pools and my sister has been strict that the pools should have
a roof so that they wouldn’t get tan lines. Of course, food is prepared and shared by the family.
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| If there's a feast, there is food. |
Tradition dictated that Holy Week should be solemn and
quiet. But times have been changing. Because this is usually a long holiday
weekend, this has become the time for family reunions and get-togethers among
friends. We cannot be quiet during times like those. Merry-making is always
involved and foods are always served. What is important is to remember Jesus’s
sacrifices and observe other relevant traditions and practices.
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