Post- Easter Post

So how was your Easter? I and my family had a lazy day. W e did not go to sunrise service since it was set at 4:30 am in Taytay and Ethan was racked with cough. I was very disapppointed with myself. Easter Sunday and no church!

I called my mother at 9:00 am and explained why we were absent at the sunrise service. After which I sms my sis-in-law and told her we'll be eating lunch at her house whether she likes it or not.

We arrived at my sis-in-law's house and ate lunch... for 4 hours. We started eating at 1:oo pm. By the hour, different food were presented: lunch, then dessert,then fruits, then chips, then sandwiches. We were stuffed but kept on eating and talking anyway.

I have prepared about 40 plastic eggs with candies and money inside for Ethan's annual Easter egg hunt. Since we were at my in-laws' house I have incuded all the kids there to join in the hunt. So at 4:40 pm I finally hid the eggs. In our excitement no one tool pictures. My hubby played a joke on the egg hunters but the joke backfired.

He included and hid a red salted egg and a fresh egg. Guess who got the real eggs? Yeah. My son got the salted egg and Ethan got the fresh egg which he readily threw and broke.

I was suddenly reminded of the Golden Rule.

Do not do to others what you do not want others to do to you.

Good Friday Goodies

For a fee, the senakulo players re-enacted the "verdict" part of the Pasyon script right in front of my mother's house in Taytay. We were late in going to Taytay on Good Friday but we still managed to catch one group of senakulo still roaming the streets in search of "fans" like me willing to shell out 100 Php for a glimpse of their performance.

It was hilarious but we did not laugh for these actors sincerely think that they are the chosen ones. The manager of the group wanted to perform inside my mother's yard so as to prevent others (who did not contribute funds) from watching the show. I said it's fine by me (the sponsor) to let other passers-by see the drama.

So Pilate started his monologue. I really was not able to follow what he was saying for there was nothing biblical about it. Pilate even had Claudia draped about him. Then came the pharisee's dialogue. The three pharisee's were really hilarious for they said their parts in unmistakable Taytay accent.

The Romans started beating up the small guy acting as Christ. The guy went down on his knees and asked for water. What the? In the Bible, Christ asked for water when he was at the cross. So there, I was thinking how wrong the script was. At that precise moment one of the pharisees came up to me and said " ma'm tubig po, nahihilo po kasama namin" ( ma'm, water please. our mate feels faint). That brought another bout of grinning and then I asked the maid to go get water.



The cold water drink revived the actor and then they proceeded with the play. Two of my daughters were taking pictures and I just can't help noticing that the senakulo players were actually lining up in the camera's sight.

That night, the annual Amba (dead Christ statue) procession started at 5 pm and finished at 8:30 pm. Gone were the usual two-line procession. There were so many attendees that the street were filled with people. Before the Amba, the processional lines were more in order. I was able to say HI to some old acquaintances who were in the procession.

There was an hour and half delay before the Amba float came into view. Gates were closed. Kids snatched to hustle them inside for the throng that goes with the Amba float was just unbelievable. The smell was wet, humid and nauseating. By-standers were throwing towels at the Amba float while the men manning the float catch the towels, wipe them against the pane of the float, then throws tham back at the crowd: for anting-anting power (amulet).

The Amba, finally passed by. My children have watched the same Amba that my mother and I have watched for so many years. Different sets of generations have devoted themselves to Good Friday procession. They compete to have the honor of pulling the Amba float. There were hudnreds of devotees in white shirt waiting for their turn on the ropes.

What is the essence?

I serve a risen Savior. He's in the world today.

Holy Week: South of Manila

Regions, provinces even towns have varying traditions played during the Lenten Season. Bacoor is only an hour's away (that's without traffic), from Taytay but their Holy Week customs differ. Let me just do some clarifications. The province of Cavite used to be a seat of the Aglipayan Church.

There were more Aglipays than Catholics in the town of Bacoor. The Aglipayan congregation were the cream of the crop in Bacoor. For some reason ( that I know nothing of), the Aglipay church in Bacoor separated into two. Those who were disillusioned transfered to the Catholic church. Now, every time a Catholic event calls for a procession, there are three individual churches involved: Aglipay 1, Aglipay 2 and the Roman Catholic.

I have observed that anywhere in the Philippines, Palm Sunday is celebrated with the procurement of a palaspas, have it blessed then displayed on the walls of houses. Altas, are not evident here but the singing of the Pasyon is in. The pasyon singers are invisible. They are sequestered inside houses. One can just hear the pentatonic whining much like the cantoras and cantors in Taytay because high-tech speakers are directed on unsuspecting neighbors (me!)

The Station of the Cross or Via Dolorosa is very much observed in Cavite. Households are assigned by the parish to put up respective altars depicting the 14 stations. The house to house Stations of the Cross usually starts a week before Lent. The finale would be on Maundy Thursday where the Station of the Cross will be brought on a higher level.... church hopping. I remember my sisters-in-law starting out real early in the morning of Maundy Thursday so they can reach churches as far away as Tagaytay.

There was one Maundy Thursday when I and my girls tagged along. We started late at 8 pm so we were not able to finish all the 14 stations but managed to grab a midnight snack at the Aristocrat. There were tons of people everywhere. My sister-in-law said the 14 th station is always the home church.

There are no senakulos or flagellants in Cavite. The only event on Good Friday are the funeral processions of the three churches; However, Easter Sunday is a totally different genre.

Months, sometimes, years before a particular Easter Sunday or what is commonly in Cavite as Salubong, a set of 3 sagalas , with at least 4 flower girls, each are chosen for the early morning procession. By early, I mean 4:30 am. Salubong is a big event in Bacoor. The three sagalas are known respectively as sargenta (sargeant), tenyenta (lieutenant) and kapitana (captain). My niece-in-law was chosen as a sagala. She started out as a dama, then on to the three ranks.

Being the Kapitana in the Salubong is every Catholic and Aglipay 1 and 2 mothers' and daughters' dream. Gowns are done by designers of caliber. The whole town literally watches this event. The four resident brass bands of Bacoor are at its finest wearing new uniforms but basically still sounding blah! Not a car can pass the main road while the procession is ongoing. The heck with emergencies and ambulances. After the procession, talks on who has the most fantastic or disastrous gown or who is the loveliest or ugliest kapitana or who they think has the cheapest ot most expensive gows and so on.

We Filipinos are so bounded by traditions that sometimes we lose the essence or forget the meaning of Holy Week.

The Lenten Season is, for me, not a time for penance or any outward and loud manifestation of faith. I believe it is a time to ponder on the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Holy Week: East of Manila

Holy Week came early this year. I never could figure out when Holy Week will be. For a predominantly Catholic country, Holy Week here starts on Ash Wednesday, then Palm Sunday then Holy Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday and finally Easter Sunday.

The Filipinos are a people with a conviction for traditions and superstitions. Holy Week is a good example of the traditions faithfully followed year after year by some Pinoys. Here are some traditions that I saw practiced in my hometown, Taytay, Rizal.

Buying of ready-made palaspas on Palm Sunday. Catholic Churches are teeming with faithfuls wanting their "palaspas" blessed by the priest. The "blessed palaspas" will then be displayed on the outside wall of houses to be taken down and refurbished on next year's Palm Sunday.

Different street associations start to build Altars for pasyon or the seemingly pentatonic singing of the Passion of Christ. These altars or alta , as we call them in Taytay, have microphones for their cantoras and cantors. Food was always available at the back of the alta for the pasyon readers. When we were teenagers (and know nothing better) my friends and I used to sing at altas for free food. We were not happy with the pentatonic whining so we occasionally used Earth Wind and Fire tunes to the consternation of the oldies there. Imagine singing the passion to the catchy tune of EWF's September.

In the neighboring town of Cainta, the senakulo would be in full blast every night. The Passion of Christ is dramatized on a stage built near the Catholic church and the Town Hall. The production runs until Maundy Thursday night then the finale will be the following day, Good Friday. At 7:00 am that day, Pontius Pilate, with Claudia, will be on a chariot going all around Cainta and Taytay while occasionally washing his hands:an act symbolical of Pontius Pilate's alleged innocence in the crucifixion verdict he gave Jesus Christ.

Behind Pilate's chariot would be Barabas, and Hestas(?) I actually do not know the name of the other thief. I just got the Hestas name from Donya Delilah of the defunct John and Marsha Show. (Hudas!, Barabas!, Hestas!) Now these two thieves would be tied up on logs slung across their shoulders. Only the person acting as Jesus Christ would be carrying a real-heavy-wooden-cross. Since the cross is heavy and the actor JC literally whipped by the "Romans and Jews" there would be about 4 to 5 alternates for the part of Jesus Christ. As these players act out on the streets, envelopes are given out to houses along the route for donations. I never got to see the ending of this senakulo. I guess the troupe never got to crucify the actor acting as Jesus Christ.

Flagellants are everywhere on Good Friday. They cover their heads, slash their backs, lie on broken glasses, pour alcohol on their wounds, then whip themselves silly. At around 3 :00 pm, one is not allowed to laugh, talk loud or even take a bath. As Ka Choleng and Ka Celing say, patay na Amba. Amba is the term used by Taytay-nians for the statue of the dead Christ.

At 5:00 pm the faithful go to the Catholic church to attend the funeral of the dead Jesus Christ. The funeral is an amazing site. Thousands attend the funeral while hundreds pull the cart of the Amba. You can smell and feel the sweat of the faithfuls as they pass. The funeral procession takes from 3 to 4 hours from end to finish. At the very end of the procession are the flagellants doing their last bout of scourging. I have heard some of these penitents actually say that after their penitensya all their sins will be forgiven and they can enjoy another year of "sinning".

I do not practice any traditions as I serve a risen Savior and He lives within my heart.