Holy Week in the Philippines
It begins on Palm Sunday and continues on through to Black Saturday. Many communities observe Spanish-influenced Catholic rituals such as processions, that have been syncretised with elements of precolonial beliefs. This is evident in some ritual practices not sanctioned by the universal Church and the many superstitions associated with the occasion.
The days of the Easter Triduum (Maundy Thursday until Black Saturday) are considered statutory holidays. During this period, many businesses are closed or operate on shorter hours. Local terrestrial television and most radio stations usually go off the air, while others (such as stations owned by various denominations) cut their broadcasting hours and feature religious or inspirational programming, as well as news coverage of various services and rites. Cable television channels in the Philippines, however, continue to broadcast their normal programming.
On Palm Sunday (Linggo ng Palaspás, Domingo de Ramos, “Branches Sunday”), worshipers bear ornately woven palm fronds or palaspás to church for blessing by the priest before or after the day’s Mass. The fronds (considered by the Church as sacramentals) are often brought home and placed on altars, doors, lintels or windows, in the belief that these can ward off demons, and avert both fires and lightning.
Some places hold a procession into the church before the service, a common starting point being an ermita/visita (chapel of ease) several blocks away. The presiding priest, vested in a stole and cope of red (the prescribed liturgical colour of the day), either walks the route or, in imitation of Jesus’ triumphal entry, is led on horseback to the church. Sometimes, a statue of Christ riding a donkey (known as the Humenta) is used instead.
Whether the priest himself or a statue is used to represent Christ, a custom is for women to cover the processional route with tapis (literally, “wraparound”), which are large, heirloom cloth skirts or aprons made exclusively for this ritual. This is to recall how excited Jerusalemites spread their cloaks before Christ as he entered the city.
Once the procession reaches the church or some other designated spot, children dressed as angels strew flowers and sing the day’s processional antiphon, Hosanna Filio David (“Hosanna to the Son of David”). The antiphon’s text, whether the Latin original or a vernacular translation, is sung to traditional hymn tunes.
The blessing of palms and the intonation of the antiphon often occurs in the church’s parvise, its parking lot, or the town plaza, which usually is in front of or near the church (a common layout in most Philippine settlements).
Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday
Before the Second World War, the Recollect Order in Manila held its famous Procession of the Passion of Christ on Holy Monday (Lunes Santo). The most famous image was that of the purportedly miraculous Black Nazarene.
Holy Tuesday (Martes Santo) is a regular working day, and is sometimes the last full one preceding half- or full-day holidays given by some private companies on Holy Wednesday.
Holy Wednesday (Miyérkules Santo) is officially the last working day of the week. Private companies are free to give full or partial holidays to their employees. This lets people return to their home provinces for the Triduum, and holidaymakers to leave for their destinations, making it one of the country’s busiest travel seasons.
In the evening, long processions depicting the Passion of Christ are held in towns throughout the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and in the Ilocandia, as well as in Makati in Metro Manila.
Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Procession of the Passion of Christ was held on Maundy Thursday. This was later transferred to Holy Wednesday for Latin Rite Catholics, with the Philippine Independent Church (which separated from Rome in the early 20th century) retaining the Maundy Thursday date. Among the most famous processions of the Philippine Independent Church are those of Concepcion, Malabon, Santa Cruz and Paete, Laguna.
The first rite of the day is the Chrism Mass, in which parishioners join their priest for morning Mass in the cathedral, especially in the large dioceses and archdioceses. Many priests consider this to be the day when they renew their priestly vows. This Mass, over which presided by the bishop of the diocese, is when the Chrism, oil of catechumens and the oil for the sick are consecrated after the homily. Priests then bring portions of the oils to their respective parishes after the service and store these for future use.
The main observance of the day is the last Mass before Easter, the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. Though not mandatory, the afternoon service customarily includes a re-enactment of the Washing of the Feet of the Twelve Apostles. The service ends abruptly with a somber procession of the Blessed Sacrament, which is brought to the church’s Altar of Repose. Churches remain open until midnight for those who want to venerate the Blessed Sacrament, with others going to one of several priests on standby to confess their sins.
One of the most important Holy Week traditions in the Philippines is the Visita Iglesia (Spanish for "church visit", also known as the Seven Churches Visitation). Throughout the day, worshipers pray the Stations of the Cross inside or outside the church, while at night, the faithful pay obeisance and perform supplications to the Blessed Sacrament within the Altar of Repose.
Good Friday (Biyernes Santo) is the second public holiday of the week, and considered the most solemn day of the year. It is observed with street processions, the Way of the Cross, the commemoration of Jesus' Seven Last Words (“Siete Palabras”) and the staging of Senákulo, which in some places has already begun on Palm Sunday.
Mass is not celebrated on this day. Instead, people gather in churches in the afternoon for the Veneration of Cross service and the Mass of the Presanctified. Nationwide, the veneration service begins silently in unlit churches at 15:00 PST (GMT+8), remembering the “ninth hour” that was the instant Christ died according to the Gospels. The Mass of the Presanctified is said at the altar stripped of decorations, and without the Anaphora as the sacramental bread was already consecrated on Maundy Thursday.
In some places (most famously in the province of Pampanga), the day’s processions include devotees who self-flagellate and sometimes even have themselves nailed to crosses. While frowned upon by the Church, devotees consider these to be personal expressions of penance, whether in fulfilment of a vow or in thanksgiving for a prayer granted.
The pabasa, or continuous chanting of the Pasyón (the Filipino epic narrative of Christ's life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection), usually concludes on this day. Television and radio stations also broadcast their own special Siete Palabras programmes from large churches in Manila, usually beginning at noon so as to end before the veneration service.
The usual highlight of Good Friday is the Santo Entierro ("holy interment"), which is both the name of the rite itself and of the statue of the dead Christ that is its focus. Comparable to the Eastern Orthodox practice of processing the epitaphios, the image of the Santo Entierro is laid on an ornate, flower-decked calandra or bier and brought around town. Its retinue is normally composed of images of saints connected to the Passion narrative, such as Peter, Mary Magdalene, and John the Evangelist. Tradition dictates that regardless of the number of images used in the procession, that of the Virgin Mary, dressed in black and gold as the mourning Mater Dolorosa, is always last in line.
Some places accord the Santo Entierro traditional, pre-Christian funeral rites such as washing the corpse, laying the body in state, or seating it in a funerary chair. In Paete, Laguna the icon of the Santo Entierro is smoked over burning lansones peelings: during the procession, the shoulder-borne calandra makes several stops, and each time is placed over the burning peelings. At each station, a hymn is sung and a crier, turning towards the bier, shouts three times in Spanish, "¡Señor! ¡Misericordia, Señor!" ("Lord! Mercy, Lord!"), a phrase which the congregation repeats in a low voice each time.
In Alimodian, Iloilo the Santo Entierro is interred – not by the altar as is customary elsewhere – but at the church doors, to let the people venerate the icon usually by kissing its feet. There is also a large crucifix before the altar for people to venerate and kiss. At night, young girls in costumes and bearing lit tapers, walk barefoot with the Mater Dolorosa in a second procession around the town square. The maidens meditate and mourn, reenacting the burial that Christ's female disciples gave him.
Among the country's famous and elaborate calandaras are those of Agoo, Bacolor, Baliwag, Guagua, Molo, Iloilo, Paete, San Pablo, Sasmuan, Silay, and Vigan. Some are centuries old and were commissioned from the famous talleres (studios) of the santeros Asunción and Máximo Vicente.
Several traditional taboos are customarily observed on this day, such as the avoidance of excessive noisemaking, and in older times, bathing (except for health reasons). The prohibitions usually begin after 15:00 PST. Children, in particular, were traditionally discouraged from outdoor play, with elders cautioning that since “God is dead”, evil spirits are freely roaming the earth to harm humans.
The ritual mourning and generally sombre mood of the day gave rise to the Tagalog idiom “Mukhâ kang Biyernes Santo” (“You’ve a face like Good Friday.”) The phrase refers to a sad person's demeanor resembling that of the suffering Christ.
Black Saturday or Holy Saturday (Sábado de Gloria) is the third and final public holiday of the week. The day is legally and colloquially termed in English as “Black” given the colour's role in mourning. The term Sábado de Gloria (Spanish for Gloria Saturday) refers to the return of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo during the Easter Vigil held on this day. The hymn is absent throughout Lent except on solemnities and Maundy Thursday.
The ritual mourning for the “dead” Christ continues, albeit with less intensity. Traditional taboos from the previous day, such as merrymaking and the consumption of meat, are carried over and sometimes broken at noon. This includes swimming in a river or the sea, as superstition warns against bathing on Good Friday afternoon. Most commercial establishments operate on shorter hours, with smaller enterprises in many areas remaining closed until Easter Sunday or Easter Monday, but some return to normal in major urban areas. Television and radio stations broadcast on shorter hours with special programming, or remain off-air.
Easter (Linggó ng Pagkabuhay) is marked with joyous celebrations, the first being the pre-dawn rite called Salubong in Filipino and Sugat in Cebuano and Hiligaynon (both calques of the rite’s Spanish name Encuentro, "meeting"). The rite is customarily performed in the early hours of Easter before the first Mass, though it may also be done immediately after the Easter Vigil if it takes place around midnight.
The ritual is meant to depict the apocryphal reunion of Christ and his Mother, the Virgin Mary, after the Resurrection. Statues of both are borne in two separate processions that converge at a designated area called a Galilea (“Galilee”), which is often an open space with a purpose-built scaffold (permanent or otherwise) near the church. Depending on the size and wealth of the congregation, the processions include statues of any or all the Myrrhbearers, particularly the Three Marys (Mary, mother of James, Mary Magdalene, and Mary Salome), along with Peter and John the Evangelist. By custom, the two processions are sex-segregated, with male worshipers following the Risen Christ, twelve men in costume as the Apostles, and icons of male saints, while female congregants accompany icons of the Virgin Mary and female saints. Those in the procession hold lit tapers, and often recite the rosary as a brass band plays hymns and joyful music.
The icon of the Virgin Mary, still called the Mater Dolorosa, is clothed or draped in a black veil (Tagalog: lambóng) to show her bereavement. An “angel” (often a small girl in costume) stands at or is suspended in mid-air from the Galilea. From this lofty perch, the angel chants the Regina Coeli in Latin or in the vernacular, sometimes accompanied by similarly dressed schoolchildren representing the angelic choirs.
The high point is when the principal angel dramatically removes the veil from the Virgin’s icon, signalling the abrupt end to her grieving and the period of mourning. The veil may simply be pulled off the statue, or tied to balloons or doves that are released into the dawn sky. The sorrowing Virgin is thus ritually transformed into Nuestra Señora de Alegria ("Our Lady of Joy"); in celebratory veneration, the angels throw flower petals at the icons of the rejoicing Mother and her Risen Son as confetti showers on the icons. The moment is punctuated by bells pealing, brass bands playing, and fireworks. The reunited congregation then gathers inside the church for the first Mass of Easter.
In some parishes, the rite is held earlier at midnight immediately following the long Easter Vigil proper, retaining the same format.
Notable observances and pilgrimage sites
Cities and towns with famous Holy Week celebrations include:
- Agoo, La Union
- Arevalo, Iloilo City
- Baliuag, Bulacan
- Bustos, Bulacan
- Bantayan Island, Cebu
- Batangas City
- Binangonan, Rizal
- Betis, Guagua
- Candaba Pampanga
- Concepción Malabon
- Dagupan Pangsinan
- Guagua, Pampanga
- Lingayen, Pangasinan
- Lipa City Batangas
- Marilao, Bulacan
- Marinduque (see Moriones Festival)
- Morong, Rizal
- Meycauayan, Bulacan
- Paete, Laguna
- Pasig City
- Santa Maria, Bulacan
- Santa Rita, Pampanga
- San Pablo, Laguna
- Sasmuan, Pampanga
- Silay City
- Vigan, Ilocos Sur
Caridad or Pakaridad is a way of giving or sharing food (especially ginataan or suman) to the neighbors or to the local church or chapel to be given to the crowds of people who attend the Good Friday procession. A complimentary drink of water is also given by local residents living along the processional route.
The Black Nazarene icon, brought from Mexico during the Galleon Trade era, is enshrined in Quiapo Church, and is considered miraculous by devotees is brought out for procession every Good Friday. The statue is borne on the shoulders of male devotees in a slow, difficult procession around the narrow streets of the district, a score of men struggle to keep the image moving on. Thousands more try to muscle their way to touch the Nazarene as if carried by a powerful tide in an ocean of humanity.
It is a folk belief that anting-anting (traditional amulets) are especially potent if collected, made, or imbued with power on Good Friday. In Sipalay, Negros Occidental many albularyo (witch doctors) search for anting-anting in unexplored caves.
Procession of Statues
On Holy Wednesday, a procession is held with Paete's 53 images of Christ's life and death. The procession goes through the town's narrow streets en route to the church. It stops three times to give way to the Salubong (meeting) which depicts three scenes of Jesus' passion and in which Paete's "moving saints" take part. These are: the meeting of Christ and Mary, held at the church patio; the wiping of Jesus' face by Veronica, which takes place at Plaza Edesan; and finally, the encounter between Mary and Veronica where the latter shows the miraculous imprints of Christ's face on her cloth. This is held at the town plaza
In San Pablo, the Good Friday procession consists of huge, century-old statues bedecked in fresh flowers. In the old times, the famous processions were that of Saint Bartholomew of Malabon, Binan, Laguna, Pateros and Tuguegaro. Unfortunately, the Holy Week Images from Cagayan were destroyed by the war and similarly the Tres Caidas of Binan. In the seventies, the Holy Week Procession of Malabon consisted of 30 silver carrozas. The highlight was the Tres Caidas either from Talleres Maximo or Asuncion. It today does no longer join the procession of Good Friday. The most famous procession in Manila during the inter war period was of Santa Cruz. Almost all images were obliterated during the aerial-bombardment of Manila in 1945. Today Makati has a major Holy Wednesday procession aside from the usual Good Friday one, both of which have some of the oldest images and is held in the city proper.
Many towns have their own versions of the Senákulo, using traditional scripts that are decades or centuries old. A version is held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, sponsored by the Department of Tourism. Popular film and televisions stars often join the cast of the play. In Taguig, they popularize the modern version of Jesus Christ Superstar reshown at the Fort Santiago Amphitheater for the benefit of Manileños. In Mexico, Pampanga and Dinalupihan, Bataan, the actor portraying Jesus has been actually nailed to the cross to simulate Christ's passion as best and as painfully possible. Similar shows are also held in Makati and in the Santa Ana District of Manila.
Pagtaltal sa Jordan
In the Visayas, the passion play Ang Pagtaltal sa Jordan is performed in Jordan, Guimaras and in Barotac Viejo, Iloilo every Good Friday. In recent years, the play's audience included locals as well as people from the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, the Netherlands, Spain, Germany, Canada, and other countries.
The Moriones Festival in the island province of Marinduque commemorates the story of the Roman centurion, Longinus (Tagalog: San Longhino) and his legendary conversion at the foot of the cross. The townsfolk of Boac and Mogpog are dressed in masks and helmets (moriones), depicting Roman soldiers, and unusually for the country, observe Holy Week in a much more joyous manner.
Salubung in Pasig
In one book written by an American, the author observed that the Easter Sunday Procession of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Pasig was the most beautiful one. Since Pasig is older than the other towns of the former Province of Tondo, it was suggested that the Pasig ceremony inspired those in Makati, Paranaque and other towns which had Augustinian parishes. Two processions emerged from the church and met in front of the town or city plaza, wherein Mother and Son greeted each other to the tune of Regina Coeli.
The first dancer is the Salubong Angel, who often has large wings and bears a black veil. Second are the Hosanna Angels dressed in white, who usually hold baskets with rose petals and comprise a majority of the dancers.
Third are the Tres Marías (English: Three Marys), three older girls dressed in pink and also bearing baskets. Last are the blue-clad Kapitana (Captainess) and Tinyentera (Female Lieutenant); the Kapitana can be distinguished by the large banner she waves, while the Tinyentera swings a thurible.
Sayaw ng Pagbatì
The Salubong is also held in Parañaque City, but with the Mass followed by different renditions of the Sayaw ng Pagbatì ("Dance at the Greeting").
San Pablo City
Celebrities and movie stars from Manila and neighboring provinces join the procession organized by Don Ado Escudero of Villa Escudero.
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Holy Week in the Philippines.|
- Vila, Alixandra Caole (April 2, 2015). "IN PHOTOS: A look at churches where Filipinos spend Visita Iglesia". The Philippine Star. philstar.com. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- BARTOLOME, JESSICA (April 1, 2015). "Doing the Visita Iglesia in Metro Manila". GMA News.