Superstitions On Holy Week

Superstitions on Holy Week By Ramon T. Ayco (First published in my Culture Column on “Pinoy Reporter” April 2009 issue.) The “palasapas” (palm leaves) attached on our front door is now colored brown. This coming Palm Sunday, the starts of Holy Week, it’s time to replace that old “palaspas” with a new one, fresh and green. Yes, every year Filipino Catholics bring palm leaves to church to be blessed by the priest. Some palm leaves are intertwined, braided, and beautifully decorated and are preserved in homes, as well as in private altars. They venerate the palm leaves for salvation, believing that they will be delivered from evil. Palm leaves symbolize the triumph of Jesus over death, death He suffered on the cross to save us, sinners. Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus' passion and death prior to his crucifixion on Golgotha, to rise again on Easter Sunday. When Holy Weeks come, I always remember one of the usual debates in some drinking sessions with meat as “pulutan”. “We should take all the opportunities in eating meat now for we cannot do this during Holy Week”, so the argument begin. And the answer will be “No, you’re so superstitious, it doesn’t mean abstinence on meat literally but abstinence on sex.” Well, whatever. But Filipino observance of Holy Week in the Philippines really combines religious devotion with superstitions and even pagan practices. It’s hard to tell which of which are allowed by the Church. Here are some of these superstitions and folk practices. § § § § § §

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No unnecessary sounds should be made during Holy Week, especially on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. One should avoid bathing, showering, or doing laundry after 3 pm on Good Friday -- the time Christ was believed to have died -- for fear that evil will befall them. Before the ringing of the church bells on Black Saturday morning, children who want to grow tall leap up. On Black Saturday night, parents wake up children at 10 pm to eat meat dishes to prevent them from becoming deaf. Dummies of Judas the traitor are made to explode in church plazas with firecrackers. Good Friday is the day for albularyos (traditional faith healers) to recharge their powers and anting-antings or amulets or to search for objects with healing powers in the forest and in unexplored caves. Pilgrims go to Mt. Banahaw to bathe in waterfalls believed to have healing powers. Some people believe that Banahaw is the new Jerusalem and that Jesus set foot there. There are at least 168 religious sects at Mt. Banahaw, 73 of which are members of the Mt. Banahaw Holy Confederation. The holy parts of the mountain are called puestos in Dolores and Sariaya and erehiya in Tayabas. The puestos normally represent the elements: earth, water, air and fire.

And here is the origin of superstitions surrounding the bad luck of Friday the 13th. There were thirteen disciples. On the Friday that we now call Good Friday, the thirteenth disciple, Judas Escariot betrayed Jesus by indicating who he was to the Roman soldiers who then took Jesus away to be tried and found guilty. And be crucified.