From palaspas to salubong: Filipino traditions during Holy Week

Lately it would seem that the Filipino Holy Week involves either an out-of-town beach frolic, or a general-cleaning staycation—basically, anything that takes advantage of one of the longest weekends in the working year.

 

Still, many devout Catholics use the time off to do exactly what it was meant for: pray, reflect, and remember the life and suffering of Jesus Christ. The result is a week’s worth of traditions that even today remain relevant to millions of Filipino Catholics.

 

The week starts jubilant enough, on Palm Sunday. On this day, Catholics get their palm fronds, also known as palaspas, blessed by a priest. At home, they hang it on the doors for protection throughout the year. The practice remembers Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem, and the celebration that ensued, his followers laying palm branches at his feet as he passed. In some areas, there is even a procession that recreates this scene.

 

Holy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are business as usual for most people, though many already take the time to get into a prayerful mood. According to the CBCP News, the Pabasa—the ritual chanting of the life and passion of Christ—typically commences on Holy Monday and continues for a day and a night, two days, or sometimes even until Good Friday.

 

 

Many devotees also start doing their penitensiya, which can take on something as simple as fasting or a pilgrimage to holy places, or something as extreme as self-flagellation and crucifixion. The latter practices, which have been frowned upon by the Catholic Church, persist out of the intense devotion of some Filipinos.

 

 

On Maundy Thursday, there is the Visita Iglesia, which is celebrated “after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper,” according to the CBCP. Devotees visit seven churches and reflect on the Stations of the Cross, and to “adore the reserved Blessed Sacrament."

 

Good Friday is perhaps the most solemn day of the Holy Week, as it is the day that marks the death of Jesus Christ. Instead of the daily mass, church goers hear the Siete Palabras or Seven Last Words, which is the recitation of the Jesus Christ’s final words. A livestream of the Siete Palabras was made available to devotees abroad, along with the Visita Iglesia.

 

Some areas stage the Senakulo, which re-enacts the Passion of Christ. This is followed by the Santo Entierro, a procession of an image of Christ’s corpse. The tradition takes the form of a funeral march, with icons of several saints and the Mater Dolorosa following the convoy. 

 

Black Saturday is a period of mourning and solemnity for believers, who continue to pray, hear mass, and reflect, until finally, early on Easter Sunday, the somber mood brightens with the celebration of Christ’s resurrection. 

 

The joyours Filipino tradition for Easter is the Salubong, a procession that recreates the first meeting of Jesus and Mary after the resurrection. Images of Christ and Mary are carried from opposite ends, and when they meet, a little girl representing an angel lifts the black veil from Mary’s face, effectively ending her mourning and a week's worth of Pinoy rituals. - YA, GMA News