Holy Week Then and Now

Celebrating holy week is different from when I was growing up. Here I celebrate easter/holy week somewhat different and still try to do similar things. Back home, holy week is the most precious week of all, its a public holiday - schools closed, offices closed, and radio & tv going off air and no loud noises whatsoever. I think this is just some of the Filipino superstitions on Good Friday - kids not allowed to play because kids might injure themselves and wounds wont heal. People stock up on foods and everything they will need since all business were closed for the week. People stop eating meat some go on liquid diets. I remember Palm Sunday, I would get dressed in my sunday's best (specifically white dress) with a basket full of flowers. The mass will be held outside of church to fit all the people and towards the back of the church yard There will be stands with arches where all the girls will be standing with their basket waiting for the priest to come by. When the priest get to the the arches/stand, we would grab hand full of flowers and throw it towards him, showering him with flowers and he would then blessed us with holy water. One particular sight people will see on the streets are Filipinos publicly whipping themselves; a reenactment of torture and death of Jesus. Some Filipinos whipped their backs till it bleeds as well as nail their hands and feets onto a wooden cross. They also place crowns of thorns on their heads to cause blood to drip down to their faces just like Jesus.

From what I remember when I went back to Philippines during easter: on Easter Sunday there is this ceremony called "Salubong" which is held at four in the morning commemorating how the Virgin Mary met her son Jesus who has come back to life. People in my town where carrying all the saints on their shoulders and parading them, dancing with the saints on their shoulders, music playing. It was new to me when I went back for the first time.

At this contemporary times, this traditions are slowly disappearing specially in the younger generation of Filipinos. Some traditions are still being practiced by the younger generation like not eating meat, going to mass, spending time with their families. As this young generations continue to practice some traditions, I find that the traditions they do not continue to do is no radio, no tv, no travelling traditions. Most use this time to go to the beach and just spend time with friends and families, cause for some that's the only vacations they get.

My first time back in the Phil. was during holy week. In my family, while the mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles were doing their holy week rituals preparing the foods, etc. My cousins and I were touring the neighborhoods. The most memorable one I can remember was during good friday. Parents are all at the house just eating, relaxing, catching up, my cousins and I got on a van, went to go pick up other cousins to take me around town to see other places that I haven't seen before or showing me how some places have changed. At night, while the parents were sleeping, the cousins were still touring the town and even stopped at a club to go dancing and drinking. By the time we got home it was two in the morning. Yea, my aunts, uncles, including my parents were probably thinking that I'm a bad influence on my cousins. My cousins on the other hand loved me cause they get to go out specially on good friday.