For Catholics and Christians all over the world, the season of Lent is a time to reflect on the sacrifices that Christ made to save humanity. The religious observance lasts for about six weeks starting from Ash Wednesday and culminates in Easter Sunday. In the Philippines, the week preceding Easter – the Holy Week – is a period marked by fasting, praying and reflecting on the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. A highlight of Holy Week is called the Easter Triduum that begins with the evening of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
In many provinces particularly in the North, designated families would put up altars representing the 14 Stations of the Cross where the priest leading the procession on Good Friday would stop to talk about the Passion of Christ, and the kind of suffering and humiliation he went through on the way to the cross of the Via Crucis. In many homes, the Pabasa or Pasyon would be held, with a guitarist leading the lilting chants that are read from a book of the Pasyon.
Although the observance of Holy Week may basically be the same with the prayers, masses and procession, there are still distinct differences in the ways these have been traditionally observed. In the island of Hvar in Croatia, a 500-year-old tradition called “Za Krizen” (following the cross) is observed on Maundy Thursday. Six processions from six different churches simultaneously start at night and would end early in the morning with the route (spanning approximately 25 kilometers) going around the island in a big circle. A man carrying a large cross serves as the leader of the procession with participants dressed in formal white. In one of the participating villages called Jelsa, the cross bearer runs upon reaching the last 100 meters. What is interesting though is that the six simultaneous processions must coordinate so that none of them meets along the way. Singing of the Gospin plac (Weeping of the Lady) – an eight-syllable 15th century Passion text sang like a dialog by chosen kantaduri (singers) accompanies the procession.
Over in Texistepeque near San Salvador in El Salvador, men garbed in red devil masks and costumes carry whips or belts to lash at the people during a procession. The masked faithful are popularly known as the Talciguin, and the lashing is an old tradition that symbolizes the cleansing of sins.
At the Orthodox Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Resurrection in old Jerusalem, the devout and faithful and pilgrims all over the world congregate in the place believed to be the site where Jesus rose from the dead.
In Jerusalem, Holy week begins with a morning mass on Palm Sunday to commemorate Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, followed by a palm procession in the afternoon, with thousands walking down to the Mount of Olives in Kidron Valley going to the Old City. At 9:00 p.m. on Holy Thursday, Christians watch a depiction of Christ’s meditation in the Garden of Gethsemane after which a candlelight procession is held leading to the church of St. Peter in Gallicantu, believed to be the place where Jesus stayed on the night he was betrayed and arrested. A highlight is on Good Friday with a reenactment of the deposition of Christ’s body into the tomb – a tradition that is unique to Jerusalem.
In many parts of Spain, the Holy Week is the most important part of the year for numerous hermandades or cofradias y penitencia (brotherhoods of the penitent) composed of Catholic lay people, where they take charge of many of the religious activities that occur during the season of Lent and Holy Week. In Oviedo in Northern Spain, members of the Hermandad de Los Estudiantes take part in a procession while people drop rose petals from their balconies. In Sevilla, processions depicting the various stages in the life of Jesus Christ are held, and these are usually done in a solemn and pious manner with members of the cofradias wearing hooded robes. Floats or pasos carrying images of saints go around the procession route, similar to the processions that happen in many provinces and cities in the Philippines. One of the most interesting is the float of the La Borriquita (She-Donkey) to depict the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.
Regardless of the tradition or the manner of observance, the Holy Week has one universal message: that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and by His resurrection conquered death that we may have eternal life if we believe in Him and accept Him as our Lord and Savior.