Holy Week in the Philippines

Philippines is known to be the only predominantly Christian country in the whole of Asia and a big number of devout Catholics made up its population. This is one of the reasons why Lent/ Holy Week traditions are widely observed in a very unique way in the country.

Holy Week is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter. In the Philippines, this is referred as Mahal na Araw or Semana Santa. The week starts from Palm Sunday, then come Holy Monday, Holy Tuesday, Holy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and concludes on Black Saturday. Easter Sunday is the beginning of another liturgical week.

It is traditionally a solemn occasion in the Philippines,  a time for serious atonement.

Both Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are public holidays in the Philippines. Though Holy Monday to Holy Wednesday are regular workdays, this week is considered to be a solemn week and is observed quietly, until Black Saturday. Filipinos have a lot of customary beliefs, in every event or occasion there will be some of these beliefs or we called pamahiin that comes out. I remember my Lola (grandmother) will always prevent us, her grandchildren from making excessive noise on Good Friday and she will even prohibit us from taking a bath after 3:00 in the afternoon, because, Jesus Christ is said to have died in that hour and we should be mourning for his death.

LENT/HOLY WEEK TRADITIONS & PRACTICES

There are different traditions in different provinces in the Philippines, some of these traditions even started from olden times and were has passed from generations to generations. Even in today’s modern and high-tech world, these traditions never seem to wane.

Ash Wednesday

1.  Ash Wednesday is the first day of the Lent. It is the practice of placing ashes on the forehead of the participant to signify inner repentance. The ashes used during Ash Wednesday are from the branches blessed on the previous year’s Palm Sunday. On this day, you will see Catholic Filipinos returning from church  with ash smudged on their foreheads in the shape of a cross.   If you don't have the mark, you will be asked if you have attended Mass. 

Ash Wednesday

2. Palm Sunday commemorates the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, Filipino Catholics bring palaspas (palm fronds) to church to be blessed by the priests.  Then they bring the fronds back home with them.

Palaspas (Palm Sunday)

For most of the week, especially after Tuesday, the towns are eerily quiet with TV and radio stations going off the air and no loud noises or revelry whatsoever. Catholics stop eating meat, turning to fish, and the more devout ones go on a completely liquid diet. 

3. The traditional pabasa (the "reading" or chanting of verses about the suffering of Christ) starts on Sunday and ends on Maundy Thursday, which is the day when the washing of the feet is celebrated. 

Pabasa or Chanting

1.    4.  Visita Iglesia. This is one of the traditions that for me is easy to do for a sacrifice, from the word itself, this involve visiting of churches. This tradition attempts to visit 7 churches (while others choose to visit 14 churches) and recite the station of the cross in them. It is traditionally done on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, and accommodate Catholic devotee, a lot of Catholic churches remained open until midnight during Holy Week.

The Church in my hometown (San Juan the Baptist Church)
Visita Iglesia

1.  5.   Washing of the Feet. The main observance of the day during Maundy Thursday is the last mass before Easter, commonly called the Mass of the Institution of the Lord’s Supper. This mass includes the re-enactment of the Washing of the Feet of the Apostles. During this mass the priests literally wash the feet of his parishioners, just as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. The priest removes some of his outer vestments, just as Jesus removed his outer cloak. Volunteers are called up to the sanctuary, usually after the Gospel, and asked to remove their shoes and socks. But in the recent times, parishioners who will participate in the “Washing of the Feet” are asked in advance.

6.  Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion and death of  Christ. On this day, you will see religious figures being carried through the towns on top of carrozas (carriages). The religious images and statues are veiled in black in mourning of the death of Jesus. 

7.  The most striking feature of  Holy Week celebrations in the Philippines is the sight of Filipinos publicly whipping themselves. These are reenactments of the torture and death of Jesus. Some Filipinos not only whip their backs into a bloody mess, they also have their feet and hands nailed to a wooden cross. Tourists come from all over the world for the sight!  In Manila, Tondo is the place to see these flagellants. Outside the capital, Pampanga and Nueva Ecija are famous for their flagellants who cover their faces with white cotton hoods. Crowns of thorns are placed on their heads to cause blood to drip. 







8.  Among Filipino superstitions on Good Friday is the prohibition against children playing. This is because they might injure themselves and not have their wounds heal. You will always be reminded that during this time when Jesus is dead, and so everything is awry and bad things are apt to happen. 

9. Black Saturday is when Christ is entombed. Filipinos spend the day preparing for the night vigil leading up to Easter Sunday. 

10. Easter Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of Christ. At  four o'clock in the morning, Filipinos do a  salubong   ceremony commemorating how the Virgin Mary met her son Jesus who has come back to life. Her image will be brought to the image of the Christ at the local church. Flower petals will be rained down on them.  Everyone is happy that Jesus is alive again and that the world is back right. 

A solemn time for everyone

Holy Week or Ang Mahal Na Araw is an event not just in the Filipino calendar, but in the Roman Catholic calendar as well, that provides people with the breather that they rightfully deserve.

The Philippine celebration of Holy Week is a time of contemplation and self-assessment, where introspection plays a vital part of the process of changing one’s sinful past. Remembering the life and suffering of Jesus Christ is something that both Filipinos and tourists alike can agree on, that the trials and hardships of one man can serve as an example to a kind of life that leads to personal salvation and redemption. The solemnity of the Filipino Holy Week is something unique—since a lot of the country’s population has its roots deeply set in its religion. This only strengthens the fact that a lot of tourists come to the Philippines for Holy Week; it is here that they can truly appreciate what is good, what is the meaning of suffering, and what is the meaning of salvation. Changing society always demands a change of oneself first, and the kind of atmosphere that Holy Week brings is enough to induce that change within people.

The Mahal na Araw is definitely an event worth celebrating, along with the hospitality that comes along with being Filipino and being a Christian, this time of the year marks the start of change for people—change that is both beneficial to themselves and to the people around them.

In contemporary times, these Philippine traditions are slowly disappearing. Young Filipinos now use the Holy Week to vacation at the beach