ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Easter in the Philippines: An Overview

Updated on July 3, 2011
Let's go EASTER EGG HUNTING!
Let's go EASTER EGG HUNTING!

Lenten Season in the Philippines:What's behind those EASTER EGGS?

Being a God-observing country, Philippines observe Lenten season religiously. This will start on Ash Wednesday that paternized the lunar calendar of Romans to be followed by Palm Sunday, then what we call THE HOLY WEEK, with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Black Saturday, and will end on Easter Sunday.

It was said that we celebrate Easter on the first Sunday after the first full moon or the first vernal equinox(day and night sharing equal length). This was agreed upon by the church leaders of Nicea(325 A.D.), thus, this day can be either from March 22nd till April25th.

Behind that modernized way of celebrating Easter with the usual bunny and the famous egg hunting, Filipinos rejoice in this glorious day to commemmorate the Ressurection of Jesus Christ and how He saved us from our sins. And since it has been long knowned what Christ went through, and what He did, People all across the country celebrate it as solemnly as possible.

"Sinakulo" (Via Crusis) or Way of the Cross
"Sinakulo" (Via Crusis) or Way of the Cross
Sunrise on Easter Sunday
Sunrise on Easter Sunday

How Filipinos Celebrate Easter

Festivity will start on Palm Sunday when everyone goes to church with palm leaves and listen to the mass and prepare for a week long celebration after. Then come Monday until Wednesday, we go to the office, do our regular chores, but in a more prim manner. Loud music is out of the question, drinking and going to bars- DEFINITELY a no-no... This is the time to reflect and to do fasting.This is the perfect time to forgive and forget.

On Maundy Thursday, Filipinos will attend the mass and pray together as we remembered the day Christ started suffering for our sins. Catholics observe the Station of the Cross, and it has been their tradition to visit as many churches as they can by walking. Others will just be in their respective homes as they sing Pasyon (Passion).

Good Friday is when you can see Penitensya (Penitents) who reneact how Jesus was nailed in the Cross, wherein these people would also put barbed wires as their crowns, walks down the streets carrying that cross that weights a ton.

On Black Saturday when Jesus is still dead, Filipinos still continue with the fasting to somehow suffer for what He did for us.

And as soon as sunrise hits on Easter Sunday, Filipinos go to church together, and celebrate as Christ has risen from death. The birth of NEW LIFE, so we rejoice in that Day and we have somehow adopted westernized culture, we now have Easter EGG hunting on this memorable day.

Longinus, a Roman soldier who stabbed the crucified Christ on the side
Longinus, a Roman soldier who stabbed the crucified Christ on the side
Moriones Festival on Easter Sunday
Moriones Festival on Easter Sunday

OTHER WAYS OF CELEBRATING EASTER FOR FILIPINOS

One of the most festive ways of celebrating Easter is those of the natives from the Marinduque Island, located on the Southern part of the Philippines. The Moriones Festival, and event similar to Mardi Gras wherein town people gather and wear Roman medieval masks and costumes similar tothose worn by Roman legionaries.

This is a re-enactment of the story of Longinus from the Gospel of St John. Longinus, a Roman soldier who was blind in one eye who pierced the side of the crucified Jesus. He regained his sight when miraculously, blood that squirted from the side of Jesus dropped on his eye. The play will conclude with Longinus being beheaded.

Unlike the typical Sinakulo, Moriones Festival is the contemporary way of remembering How Jesus was crucified, as this is being celebrated by wearing bright painted costumes of different color, indeed one of the most sought after event in the country.

Happy Easter!!!
Happy Easter!!!

Modern Way of Celebrating Easter

Let us not remove the fact that nowadays, Easter has also become a justification for Filipinos to celebrate by partying. After the long holy week is over, after being done with repenting, after fasting for the entire week, without eating meat, no liquor (not one bit), not even a stick of cigar, no blaring rock and roll music, Filipinos makes this an excuse to have fiesta or to have some sort of a family gathering.

Well, I know that this is one of those occasions(A long one at that) where we could be with our love-ones, since most private and government companies are closed. This is also one of the best times to reflect with family to have a retreat, go out of town and spend time with your family while remembering what Jesus Christ did for all of us.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)