Celebration of Holy Week and Welcoming of Easter
In the Philippines, Easter is commemorated as a single event known as Holy Week, which takes place from Thursday through Sunday. Easter Sunday is followed by Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday, and Easter Monday.
This Holy Week starts from the Palm Sunday where Christians welcomes Christ with palm leaves which reflects the entrance of Jesus Christ to Jerusalem. Followed by Holy Wednesday, then Maundy Thursday where the Last Supper happened, then the Good Friday where Jesus Christ was crucified and died at the cross and lastly the Black Saturday where the happened the visitation of his tomb. Next day would be the start of Easter season or the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and arose to heaven.
Filipino Catholicism differs significantly from Roman Catholicism in the western world. It has been greatly impacted by Malay mysticism, dictatorial customs, and the repression of individual freedom, among other factors. On the surface, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is a religious organization that creates its own brand of Catholicism. The CBCP, on the other hand, is the most powerful institution in the country, often even more powerful than the president, in a manner similar to medieval Catholicism. Uprisings sparked by the Archbishop of Manila has resulted in the overthrow of two presidents of the Philippines. It is the same church that was powerful (or influential enough) to order the execution of Jose Rizal Mercado, who is now considered a national hero.
When Filipinos travel to Europe for the first time, they are surprised to encounter a different form of Catholicism, a more liberal type of Catholicism. At the same time, Europeans are taken aback by the presence in the Philippines of a medieval sort of Catholicism that has been exacerbated by indigenous mysticism and fanaticism. The Filipino church considers alcohol, cigarettes, sex, and even masturbation to be not just sins, but also criminal crimes that should be punished with torture, if at all possible.
Christian fundamentalism poses a significant threat in the Philippines. Simply holding opposing views or thinking negatively about someone can result in your death due to public fury. They have no regard for individual liberty. However, a minority of liberal-minded Filipinos serves to counterbalance them.
Consequently, to answer the question, Easter is observed, but only as part of a single, depressing event. Filipino Catholicism considers celebrations and other forms of merriment to be heathen practices. Easter is a religious holiday in the Philippines. There are a few people who participate in easter egg hunts, but not as a family tradition, but rather as a sort of recreational amusement.
For Filipino Catholicism, the sole acceptable form of celebration is to rejoice that shops, radio, and television have returned to normal. They are expected to attend mass and pray throughout the day on Easter Sunday.
The Holy Week is very important event for us especially to us Christians where we celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our savior. Every catholic church celebrates this to commemorate Jesus Christ. This is also the time where we repent our sins and reflect to it and fast (fasting) to reflect the hardship that Christ went through. This is also said to be the time of acceptance.
If you have time also, there is so-called Visita Iglesia where people visit catholic churches around the country, or rather there are churches that were considered as pilgrimaged churches of the country wherein these are one of the oldest churches built that surpassed decades. That’s all everything about the celebration of Holy Week and Easter.
