{{Short description|none}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Use Philippine English|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox holiday | holiday_name = Holy Week in the Philippines | type = Christian | image = Ibaan Good Friday Procession Calvary carozza 2024-03-29.jpg | imagesize = | caption = A Good Friday procession in Ibaan, Batangas | official_name = | nickname = {{hlist|Semana Santa|Mahal na Araw}} | observedby = Philippines | litcolor = | longtype = Religious, historical, cultural | significance = Commemoration of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus | begins = Palm Sunday | ends = Easter Sunday | scheduling = | duration = | frequency = Annual | celebrations = | observances = Processions, religious services | relatedto = | date = }}
In the Philippines, Holy Week ({{langx|fil|Mahal na Araw}} or {{lang|es|Semana Santa}}) is a significant religious observance for the country's Catholic majority, the Philippine Independent Church ({{lang|es|Iglesia Filipina Independiente|italic=no}}), and most Protestant groups. The Philippines is one of the few majority-Christian countries in Asia. As of 2023, Catholics made up 78.8 percent of the country's population,<ref name="population-update">{{Cite news |last=Yraola |first=Abigail Marie P. |date=February 22, 2023 |title=Catholics make up nearly 79% of Philippine population |work=BusinessWorld |url=https://www.bworldonline.com/the-nation/2023/02/22/506351/catholics-make-up-nearly-79-of-philippine-population/ |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223064536/https://www.bworldonline.com/the-nation/2023/02/22/506351/catholics-make-up-nearly-79-of-philippine-population/ |archive-date=February 23, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the Catholic Church remains one of the country's dominant sociopolitical forces.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Peterson |first=William |date=Fall 2007 |title=Holy Week in the "Heart of the Philippines": Spirituality, Theatre, and Community in Marinduque's Moriones Festival |journal=Asian Theatre Journal |volume=24 |issue=2 |pages=309–337 |doi=10.1353/atj.2007.0039 |jstor=27568417 |s2cid=161092074}}</ref>
The solemn celebration of Holy Week begins on Friday of Sorrows (exactly one week before Good Friday), continues through Palm Sunday, and ends on Easter Sunday, lasting slightly over a week.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bueza |first=Michael |date=March 22, 2016 |title=Overview: Holy Week traditions in the Philippines |url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/88704-holy-week-traditions-philippines/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150407023202/https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/88704-holy-week-rituals-philippines |archive-date=April 7, 2015 |access-date=April 30, 2019 |website=Rappler |url-status=live}}</ref> Many communities observe Spanish-influenced Catholic rituals, such as processions, which have been syncretized with elements of precolonial beliefs. This is evident in some ritual practices not sanctioned by the universal Church and in the many superstitions associated with the occasion.
The days of the Easter Triduum (Latin for “Three Days”), from Maundy Thursday to Black Saturday— known as Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday elsewhere—are national holidays. During this period, many businesses are closed or operate on shorter hours. It is also customary for domestic radio and television stations to go off the air, with some stations instead broadcasting appropriately themed programs, such as religious dramas, films, and live coverage of liturgies and Masses.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Santos |first=Tomas U. |date=2008-11-17 |title=Is Philippine TV still Holy Week-friendly? |url=https://varsitarian.net/circle/20081117/is_philippine_tv_still_holy_week_friendly |access-date=2025-04-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>
Holy Week in the Philippines is also one of the highly anticipated annual long weekends in the country.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sexton |first=Colleen A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ffGdShrIrQAC |title=Philippines in Pictures |date=January 1, 2006 |publisher=Twenty-First Century Books |isbn=978-0-8225-2677-3 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ffGdShrIrQAC&pg=PA46 46] |language=en |access-date=March 10, 2023}}</ref> Non-Catholics and non-practicing Catholics often use this holiday for travel, resulting in a peak season in most Philippine tourist destinations.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rood |first=Steven |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JmCpDwAAQBAJ |title=The Philippines: What Everyone Needs to Know® |date=June 15, 2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-092060-9 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=JmCpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA149 149] |language=en |access-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref>
==Palm Sunday== [[File:Cardinal Advincula Blessing of Palms (2) 2026-03-29.jpg|thumb|Cardinal Jose Advincula blesses palm fronds at Plaza de Roma (located in front of the Manila Cathedral) in 2026.]] On Palm Sunday ({{Lang|fil|Linggo ng Palaspás}}; {{Lang|es|Domingo de Ramos}}), worshipers bear ornately woven palm fronds ({{Lang|fil|palaspás}}) to church for blessing by the priest before or after the day's Mass.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Manto-Beltran |first=Lea |date=March 28, 2015 |title=Palm Sunday,the beginning of Christ's victory |url=https://www.manilatimes.net/palm-sundaythe-beginning-of-christs-victory/172453/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708225939/https://www.manilatimes.net/palm-sundaythe-beginning-of-christs-victory/172453/ |archive-date=July 8, 2015 |website=The Manila Times |url-status=unfit}}</ref> The fronds (considered sacramentals by the Church) are often brought home and placed on altars, doors, lintels, or windows in the belief that these can ward off demons, fires, and lightning.
Some places hold a procession into the church before the service, a common starting point being an {{Lang|es|ermita/visita}} (chapel of ease) several blocks away. The presiding priest, vested in a stole and cope of red (the prescribed liturgical color of the day), either walks the route or, in imitation of Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, is led on horseback to the church. Sometimes a statue of Christ riding a donkey (known as the ''Humenta'') is used instead.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WROR-w7V-pAC |title=CCP Encyclopedia of Philippine Art: Philippine theater |date=1994 |publisher=Cultural Center of the Philippines |isbn=978-971-8546-41-3 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=WROR-w7V-pAC&q=palm+sunday+tapis+%22Humenta%22 46] |language=en |access-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref> Women customarily cover the processional route with ''tapis'' (a traditional wraparound cloth), designed as large heirloom skirts or aprons used only in this ritual. This recalls the Bible’s mention of excited Jerusalemites spreading their cloaks before Christ as he entered into the holy city.
Once the procession reaches the church or some other designated spot, children dressed as angels strew flowers and sing the day's processional antiphon {{Lang|La|Hosanna filio David|italic=yes}} ("Hosanna to the Son of David"), in the original Latin or translation to Philippine languages, and set to traditional hymn tunes.
The blessing of palms and the intonation of the antiphon often occur in the church parvise, church parking lot, or town plaza, which in the Philippines is commonly fronting or near the church.
==Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday== [[File:Pasyon Pabasa Magdalena Laguna Philippines Apr 2011 Photo 3.jpg|thumb|''Pabasa ng Pasyon'' (Reading of the Passion of Christ) in Magdalena, Laguna (2011)]]
On Holy Monday ({{Lang|fil|Lunes Santo}}) and Holy Tuesday ({{Lang|fil|Martes Santo}}), there are processions representing the Journey to Calvary. The main figure is the Fallen Christ, accompanied by images of the saints present during his walk to Calvary:
* St. Peter, holding the heavenly keys * St. John the apostle * The Three Marys (Mary, mother of James; Mary Magdalene, bearing small bottles of oil and perfume; and Mary Salome) * St. Veronica, with her white veil imprinted with Christ's image * The Virgin of Sorrows, Christ's mother
In some parts of the country with abundant wood, skilled craftsmen construct life-size wooden images that can move their arms and heads like puppets.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mendoza |first=Liwayway |date=September 1977 |title=Lenten Rites and Practices [The Philippines] |journal=The Drama Review |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=21–32 |doi=10.2307/1145149 |jstor=1145149}}</ref>
Holy Tuesday is a regular working day; for some private companies, it is the last full workday of the week.
==Holy Wednesday== [[File:San Agustin Church - Intramuros.jpg|thumb|left|Stations of the Cross outside San Agustín Church in Intramuros, Manila on Holy Wednesday, 2013.]]
Holy Wednesday ({{Lang|fil|Miyérkules Santo}}) is officially the last working day of the week. Private companies are free to give full or partial holidays to their employees, while government offices implement a half-day suspension starting at noon for their employees. This allows those wishing to celebrate the Triduum to return to their home provinces, and holiday-makers to leave for their destinations. It is one of the country's busiest travel seasons.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bajo |first=Anna Felicia |title=Palace: Half day work on March 27, 2024 in gov't offices |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/901613/palace-half-day-work-on-holy-wednesday-march-27-2023-in-gov-t-offices/story/ |work=GMA Integrated News |date=March 25, 2024 |access-date=March 25, 2024}}</ref>
In some cathedrals and parishes, the service of Tenebrae (Latin for “darkness” or “shadows”; also known locally as ''Tinieblas'') is held on Holy Wednesday. The service contains scripture readings on the Passion of Jesus, chanted or read by clergy and others as servers gradually extinguish candles on a candelabrum known as a Tenebrae hearse. The ''Tinieblas'' ends with the {{Lang|la|strepitus}}, a loud noise representing the Crucifixion earthquake.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 28, 2016 |title=Tenebrae |work=SunStar Baguio |url=https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/sunstar-baguio/20160328/281543700056804 |access-date=April 8, 2023 |via=PressReader}}</ref>
In the evening, long processions depicting the Passion of Christ are held in towns throughout the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Ilocandia, as well as in Makati, Metro Manila.
Except in Baliwag and Pulilan, both in Bulacan, the Passion tableaux are excluded from the Good Friday afternoon procession.
==Maundy Thursday== Maundy Thursday ({{Lang|fil|Huwebes Santo}}) is the first statutory public holiday of the week, marking the beginning of the Paschal Triduum. The term "Maundy", used in Philippine civil legislation, is derived from the Latin {{Lang|la|mandatum}} in reference to the new mandate Jesus gave his apostles at their meal: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." (John 13:34)
Prior to the Second Vatican Council, the Procession of the Passion of Christ was held on Maundy Thursday. This celebration was transferred to Holy Wednesday for Latin Rite Catholics, while the Philippine Independent Church (which had separated from Rome in the early 20th century) retained the Maundy Thursday date. Among the most famous processions of the Philippine Independent Church are those of Concepcion in Malabon, Metro Manila and Santa Cruz and Paete in Laguna.{{cn|date=March 2025}}
[[File:Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula officiates the Chrism Mass at the Manila Cathedral on Maundy Thursday (April 6, 2023).jpg|thumb|Chrism Mass at the Manila Cathedral in 2023, presided by the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal José Advíncula]] The first rite of the day is the Chrism Mass, in which parishioners join their priest for morning Mass in the cathedral, especially in the large dioceses and archdioceses. The clergy renew their priestly vows on this day. This Mass, which is presided over by the bishop or archbishop, is when the chrism (the oil of catechumens) and the oil for the sick are consecrated after the homily. After the service, priests bring portions of these oils to their respective parishes and store them for future use. Where logistics and other valid reasons hamper gathering the clergy on this day, however, the Chrism Mass is held earlier in the week—for example, on Holy Tuesday in the Archdiocese of Lipa and the dioceses of Dumaguete and Malolos;<ref>{{Cite news|title=Over 50 priests gather for Chrism Mass in Batangas |first=Denise |last=Abante |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/regionaltv/features/101132/over-50-priests-gather-for-chrism-mass-in-batangas/story/ |work=GMA Regional TV |date=March 26, 2024 |access-date=April 6, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Diocese of Dumaguete Bishop reshuffles priests |first=Judy Flores |last=Partlow |work=The Freeman |date=April 17, 2014 |access-date=April 6, 2025 |url=https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/region/2014/04/17/1313605/diocese-dumaguete-bishop-reshuffles-priests}}</ref> and before Holy Week in the Archdiocese of Cebu, given its vast territory covering the entire province of the same name.<ref>{{Cite news|title=300 Cebu clergy members renew their priestly vows |first=Ador Vincent S. |last=Mayol |date=2018-03-21 |url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/168004/300-cebu-clergy-members-renew-priestly-vows |work=Cebu Daily News |publisher=Philippine Daily Inquirer, Inc. |access-date=2026-03-27}}</ref>
[[File:Jf2012Saint Monica Parish Church Minalin Washingfvf 07.JPG|thumb|left|Washing of the Feet at Santa Monica Parish Church in Minalin, Pampanga]] The day's main observance is the last Mass before Easter: the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. Though not mandatory, the afternoon service customarily includes a re-enactment of the Washing of the Feet of the Twelve Apostles. The service ends abruptly with a sombre procession of the Blessed Sacrament, which is brought to the church's Altar of Repose. Churches remain open until midnight for those who want to venerate the Blessed Sacrament, or go to one of several priests on standby to confess their sins.
[[File:Catholics venerate the Blessed Sacrament at SVD Quezon City 2022-04-14.jpg|thumb|Pilgrims pray before the Altar of Repose at the Shrine of Jesus the Divine Word in Quezon City as part of the {{Lang|es|Visita Iglesia}}]] One of the most important Holy Week traditions in the Philippines is the {{Lang|es|Visita Iglesia}} (Church Visit; also known as the Seven Churches Visitation), a Holy Week practice of visiting and praying in at least seven churches.<ref name="PhilStar2015">{{Cite news |last=Vila |first=Alixandra Caole |date=April 2, 2015 |title=IN PHOTOS: A look at churches where Filipinos spend Visita Iglesia |publisher=The Philippine Star |url=http://www.philstar.com/travel-and-tourism/2015/04/02/1440184/photos-look-churches-where-pinoys-spend-visita-iglesia |access-date=April 13, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150805073801/http://www.philstar.com/travel-and-tourism/2015/04/02/1440184/photos-look-churches-where-pinoys-spend-visita-iglesia |archive-date=August 5, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Throughout the day, worshipers pray the Stations of the Cross inside or outside the church, while at night, the faithful pay obeisance and perform supplications to the Blessed Sacrament within the altar of repose.<ref name="GMA2015">{{Cite news |last=Bartolome |first=Jessica |date=April 1, 2015 |title=MAP: Doing the Visita Iglesia in Metro Manila |agency=GMA News Online |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandculture/463006/map-doing-the-visita-iglesia-in-metro-manila/story/ |access-date=April 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316144634/https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandculture/463006/map-doing-the-visita-iglesia-in-metro-manila/story/ |archive-date=March 16, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In Antipolo, the {{Lang|fil|Alay Lakad}} (lit. Walk Offering) penitential walk is held from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday, in which devotees walk for {{convert|17|km|sp=us}} along Sumulong Highway to the Antipolo Cathedral, with some even walking barefoot.<ref name="hermoso1">{{Cite news|title=Tens of thousands expected to join this year's Alay Lakad to Antipolo |first=Christina |last=Hermoso |work=Manila Bulletin |date=March 26, 2024 |url=https://mb.com.ph/2024/3/26/tens-of-thousands-expected-to-join-this-year-s-alay-lakad-to-antipolo |access-date=March 29, 2024}}</ref> (This is not to be confused with the procession from Quiapo Church of the same name held every April 30 and May 1.<ref>{{Cite news|title=FAST FACTS: Antipolo's Alay Lakad, the city's tradition every Holy Thursday |first=Lorenz |last=Pasion |work=Rappler |url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/antipolo-city-alay-lakad-tradition-holy-thursday/ |date=March 31, 2023 |access-date=March 29, 2024}}</ref>) Upon reaching the cathedral, devotees offer a short prayer or make a wish before donating coins or paper bills in front of the altar.<ref name="hermoso1" /> In 2024, 7.4 million devotees visited the cathedral during the penitential walk.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Milyun-milyon bumisita sa Antipolo Cathedral matapos ang 'alay lakad' |first=Job |last=Manahan |work=ABS-CBN News |date=March 29, 2024 |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/2024/3/28/milyun-milyon-bumisita-sa-antipolo-cathedral-matapos-ang-alay-lakad-712 |access-date=March 29, 2024 |lang=fil}}</ref> As of 2025, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Antipolo is applying for a Guinness World Record for recognition of its being the "Largest Gathering for a Walking Spiritual Pilgrimage in 12 Hours".<ref>{{Cite news|title=Antipolo church eyes Guinness record for 'Alay Lakad' |first=Evelyn |last=Macairan |work=The Philippine Star |date=April 15, 2025 |access-date=April 17, 2025 |url=https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2025/04/15/2436087/antipolo-church-eyes-guinness-record-alay-lakad}}</ref>
==Good Friday== [[File:GoodFridayprocessionsinBaliuagjf2064 10.JPG|thumb|left|One of the 127 {{Lang|es|carrozas}} of the grand procession in Baliwag]]
Good Friday ({{Lang|fil|Biyernes Santo}}) is the second public holiday of the week, and considered the most solemn day of the year. It is observed with street processions; the Way of the Cross; sermons and prayers with meditation on Jesus' Seven Last Words ({{Lang|fil|Siete Palabras}}); and the staging of the Passion Play ({{Lang|fil|Senákulo}})'','' which in some places already began on Palm Sunday.
The Baliwag Good Friday procession is the longest Lenten procession in the Philippines.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 30, 2018 |title=Longest, Most Attended Good Friday Processions in the Philippines |url=https://www.propertyasia.ph/newsroom/2018/03/30/longest-attended-good-friday-processions-philippines/ |website=PropertyAsia.ph Newsroom}}</ref> Baliwag, Bulacan, currently has 127 statues and scenes portraying the life of Christ.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Orejas |first=Tonette |date=March 29, 2018 |title=Good Friday processions grow longer through years of devotion |language=en |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/978898/good-friday-processions-grow-longer-through-years-of-devotion |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329001358/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/978898/good-friday-processions-grow-longer-through-years-of-devotion |archive-date=March 29, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> This activity, well-attended by both local and foreign tourists, follows the main liturgical service of the day.
Mass is not celebrated on this day. Instead, people gather in churches in the afternoon for the Veneration of the Cross service and the Mass of the Presanctified, which is a liturgy in which Eucharistic consecration is not done because the sacramental bread was already consecrated (presanctified) on Maundy Thursday. The altar has previously been stripped of linens and decorations. Nationwide, the veneration service begins silently in unlit churches at 15:00, remembering the "ninth hour" that was the point at which Christ died, according to the Gospels.
[[File:Trio on crosses.jpg|thumb|San Pedro Cutud Lenten Rites in San Fernando, Pampanga]] [[File:Self-flagellants make their way to Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City on Good Friday (April 7, 2023).jpg|thumb|Self-flagellants at Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City]] In some places—most famously in the province of Pampanga, where the day is known as {{Lang|fil|Maleldo}}—processions include devotees who flagellate themselves and sometimes even have themselves nailed to crosses, most notably a carpenter who has been crucified 36 times over the years, Ruben Enaje. While the practices are discouraged by the Church and health authorities, they are considered by devotees to be personal expressions of penance, whether in fulfilment of a vow or in thanksgiving for a prayer granted.<ref>{{Cite news|title=DOH, CBCP warn against crucifixion, self-flagellation on Holy Week |first=Jam |last=Sisante |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/691331/doh-cbcp-warn-against-crucifixion-self-flagellation-on-holy-week/story/ |work=GMA News |date=April 15, 2019 |access-date=April 19, 2025}}</ref> The San Fernando local government says these reenactments are regarded as a part of the province's and the city's cultural heritage. Reenactments of Christ's crucifixion in the village began in 1958, but the first actual crucifixion took place four years later in 1962.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 14, 2017 |title=IN PHOTOS: Crucifixions in San Pedro Cutud |url=https://www.rappler.com/philippines/166948-crucifixions-san-pedro-cutud-pampanga-good-friday/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416025636/https://www.rappler.com/nation/166948-crucifixions-san-pedro-cutud-pampanga-good-friday |archive-date=April 16, 2017 |website=Rappler |url-status=live}}</ref>
Other penitents, called {{Lang|fil|magdarame}}, carry wooden crosses, crawl on the rough and hot pavement, and slash their backs before whipping themselves to draw blood. This is done to ask for forgiveness of sins, to fulfill vows ({{Lang|fil|panata}}), or to express gratitude for favors granted.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tso |first=Anna Wing-bo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6TSDDwAAQBAJ |title=Digital Humanities and New Ways of Teaching |date=January 10, 2019 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-981-13-1277-9 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6TSDDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA37 37] |language=en |access-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref>
The {{Lang|fil|pabasa}}, or continuous chanting, of the ''Pasyón'' (the Filipino epic narrative of Christ's life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection), usually concludes on this day before 15:00. Television and radio stations airing their special Lenten programming also broadcast their own special ''Siete Palabras'' programs<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lao |first=Levine Andro |date=April 13, 2014 |title='Pasyon' chanters, lay preachers featured in 'Siete Palabras,' longest-running Lenten TV program |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/157057/pasyon-chanters-lay-preachers-featured-in-siete-palabras-longest-running-lenten-tv-program/ |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415152504/https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/157057/pasyon-chanters-lay-preachers-featured-in-siete-palabras-longest-running-lenten-tv-program/ |archive-date=April 15, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> from large churches in Manila, usually beginning at noon so as to end before the veneration service.
===''Santo Entierro''=== [[File:NationalShrineofOurLadyofFatimajf4440 15.JPG|thumb|left|''Santo Entierro'' (Holy Burial) at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, Valenzuela City]]
The usual highlight of Good Friday is the ''Santo Entierro'' (Holy Burial), which is both the name of the rite itself and of the statue of the dead Christ that is its focus.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Erram |first=Morexette Marie |date=March 23, 2023 |title=What is Santo Entierro? |url=https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/494693/what-is-santo-entierro |access-date=November 27, 2023 |website=CDN Digital}}</ref> Comparable to the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic practice of processing the ''epitaphios—''a liturgical cloth depicting the dead body of Christ''—''the sculpted image of the ''Santo Entierro'' is left bare or covered to the neck in a shroud of red, white, black, or gold. The image is laid in an ornate, flower-decked ''calandra'' (bier) that is brought around in a solemn funeral procession.<ref name=":2" /> The retinue is normally composed of images of saints connected to the Passion narrative, such as Peter, Mary Magdalene, and John the Evangelist. Tradition dictates that regardless of the number of images used in the procession, that of the Virgin Mary in black vestments as the ''Mater Dolorosa'' (Sorrowful Mother), is alone in her mourning and always the last as a mark of her importance.
In some places, the ''Santo Entierro'' has traditional pre-Christian Filipino funerary rites, such as washing the corpse (the water and cloths given away as holy relics), laying the body in state, or seating the body in a funerary chair. For instance, in Pakil, Laguna, the ''Santo Entierro'' is smoked over burning lanzones peelings; and during the procession, the shoulder-borne ''calandra'' makes several stops, placed each time on rests above the burning peelings. At each station, a band plays a hymn and then a crier turns towards the bier and three times shouts clearly, melodically, and loudly three times in Spanish, "{{Lang|es|¡Señor! ¡Misericordia, Señor!|italic=Yes}}" ("Lord! Mercy, Lord!"), which the congregation repeats each time in a melodically penitential low voice.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 5, 2009 |title=The Miraculous Crucifix of Pakil |url=http://tantumdicverbo.blogspot.com/2009/05/miraculous-crucifix-of-pakil.html |access-date=November 27, 2023 |website=Ecce Ego, Quia Vocasti Me}}</ref>
In Alimodian, Iloilo, the ''Santo Entierro'' is placed not by the altar—as is customary elsewhere—but at the church doors for people to venerate, usually by kissing the icon's feet. There is also a large crucifix before the altar for people to venerate and kiss. Later that night, young girls in costume and bearing lit tapers walk barefoot in a second procession with the ''Mater Dolorosa'' in and around the town plaza. The girls meditate and mourn, representing Christ's female disciples accompanying the Virgin Mary.
During Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, a gathering of men in Tanay and Taytay, both in Rizal, assemble around the parish church, engaging in feasting and contemplation throughout the night in anticipation of the Santo Entierro statue for the Subok Festival.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=April 18, 2011 |title=The unique and varied observance of Holy Week in the Philippines |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2011/04/18/the-unique-and-varied-observance-of-holy-week-in-the-philippines/ |access-date=November 27, 2023 |website=The Official Gazette}}</ref> Various items such as handkerchiefs, bronze medals, and small papers inscribed with Latin phrases are placed within the robe, beneath the feet and in the hands of the deceased Christ figure. As the Santo Entierro is paraded, these men form a circle by holding hands around the revered statue. Following the procession, these objects are retrieved and regarded as talismans, which the men experiment with by testing their efficacy using various lethal weapons among themselves.<ref name=":3" />{{Clarify|reason=Need to explain what goes on with the lethal weapons mentioned.|date=July 2025}}
Among the country's famous and elaborate ''calandras'' are those of Agoo, Bacolor, Baliwag, Guagua, Molo, Iloilo, Paete, San Pablo, Sasmuan, Silay, and Vigan. Some are centuries old and were commissioned from the famous ''talleres'' (studios) of the ''santeros'' (saint-maker) Asunción and Máximo Vicente.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 8, 2019 |title=The favorite santero of Manila's moneyed set in the early 1900s |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/ancx/culture/spotlight/04/08/19/this-santero-dominated-the-manila-art-scene-back-in-the-early-1900s |access-date=November 27, 2023 |website=ANCX}}</ref> The image itself, meanwhile, is displayed the rest of the year in the church that owns it, or in the house of the family that cares for it.
===Popular culture=== Several traditional taboos are customarily observed on Good Friday, such as the avoidance of excessive noisemaking. In older times, bathing (except for health reasons) was prohibited<ref name="SpotPH-Supersititions">{{Cite news |last=Regalado |first=Pia |date=April 6, 2023 |title=From Skipping Baths to Avoiding Injuries: The Origins of Filipino Holy Week Beliefs |work=Spot.PH |url=https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/culture/104344/holy-week-beliefs-superstitions-explainer-a4832-20230405-lfrm |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408075427/https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/culture/104344/holy-week-beliefs-superstitions-explainer-a4832-20230405-lfrm |archive-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=April 3, 2007 |title=Priests to Pinoys: Please bathe on Good Friday |work=GMA News Online |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/content/36921/priests-to-pinoys-please-bathe-on-good-friday/story/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402033737/https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/content/36921/priests-to-pinoys-please-bathe-on-good-friday/story/ |archive-date=April 2, 2021}}</ref> and children in particular were discouraged from outdoor play, with elders cautioning that since "God is dead," evil spirits are freely roaming the earth to harm humans. The prohibitions usually begin after 15:00.
The ritual mourning and generally somber mood of the day gave rise to the Tagalog idiom "{{Lang|tgl|Mukhâ kang Biyernes Santo}}" ("You have a face like Good Friday"). The phrase refers to a sad person's demeanor resembling that of the suffering Christ.{{cn|date=April 2025}}
A superstition also exists that consuming meat products on Good Friday will bring misfortune.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Filipinos' deep-rooted superstitions during Holy Week |first=Allysa |last=Fernandez |url=https://pop.inquirer.net/359071/filipinos-deep-rooted-superstitions-during-holy-week |work=Inquirer POP! |date=22 March 2024 |access-date=19 April 2025}}</ref>
== Black Saturday == [[File:Saint James the Greater Church Plaridel Easter 06.jpg|thumb|Catholic devotees with candles during the Easter Vigil at Santiago Apostol Church, Plaridel, Bulacan]] Black Saturday or Holy Saturday ({{Lang|fil|Sábado de Gloria}}) is the third and final public holiday of the week. The day is legally and colloquially termed in English as Black because of the role of that color in mourning. The other popular term of {{Lang|es|Sábado de Gloria}} ("Saturday of [the] ''Gloria''”) refers to the return to Masses of the hymn "''Gloria in Excelsis Deo''" ("Glory to God in the Highest") during the Easter Vigil on this day. Otherwise, the hymn is absent throughout Lent except on solemnities and Maundy Thursday.
The ritual mourning for the "dead" Christ continues, albeit with less intensity. Traditional taboos from the previous day, such as merrymaking<ref name="PressReader-MB-GoodFriday">{{Cite news |last=Hermoso |first=Christina I. |date=April 19, 2019 |title=Good Friday rites to commemorate Christ's passion, crucifixion, and death |work=Manila Bulletin |url=https://www.pressreader.com/philippines/manila-bulletin/20190419/281479277812449 |access-date=April 8, 2023 |via=PressReader}}</ref> and consumption of meat, are carried over and sometimes broken at midday. This includes swimming in a river or the sea, as superstition warns against bathing on Good Friday afternoon.
Most commercial establishments operate on shorter hours, with smaller enterprises in many areas remaining closed until Easter Sunday or Easter Monday; but some return to normal in major urban areas. Television and radio stations broadcast on shorter hours with special programming. Many remain off-air, although some return to normal broadcasting.
==Easter Sunday== [[File:A child dressed as an angel removes the black veil from the head of the image of the Virgin Mary during the "Salubong" at dawn on Easter Sunday (April 9, 2023) at Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City.jpg|thumb|left|{{Lang|fil|Salubong}} rite on Easter Sunday at Santo Domingo Church in Quezon City]] Easter ({{Lang|fil|Linggo ng Pagkabuhay}} or {{Lang|fil|Pasko ng Pagkabuhay}}) is marked with joyous celebrations, the first being the pre-dawn rite called {{Lang|fil|Salubong}} in Filipino and {{Lang|ceb|Sugat}} in Cebuano and Hiligaynon (both calques of the rite's Spanish name {{Lang|es|Encuentro}}, lit. "meeting").<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fortunado-Sanchez |first=Esmeralda |date=April 13, 2017 |title=Salubong welcomes Risen Christ Easter morning in the Philippines |url=https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/philippines-devotees-welcome-risen-christ-easter |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501043450/https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/philippines-devotees-welcome-risen-christ-easter |archive-date=May 1, 2019 |website=Catholics & Cultures |url-status=live}}</ref> This rite is customarily performed in the early hours of Easter before the first Mass, while some parishes instead hold the rite earlier at midnight immediately after the long Easter Vigil proper.
[[File:Ibaan Salubong Pagdagit 2024-03-31.jpg|thumb|In Batangas province, the {{Lang|fil|Salubong}} is locally known as {{Lang|tgl|Pagdagit}}]] The ritual is meant to depict the apocryphal reunion of Christ and his Mother, the Virgin Mary, after the Resurrection. Statues of both are borne in two separate processions that converge at a designated area called a {{Lang|fil|Galilea}} ("Galilee"),<ref name="PhilStar-Salubong">{{Cite news |last1=Delos Santos |first1=Felix |last2=Felipe |first2=Cecille Suerte |date=March 31, 2002 |title='Salubong' marks Easter Sunday |work=The Philippine Star |url=https://www.philstar.com/news-commentary/2002/03/31/155502/145salubong146-marks-easter-sunday |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408073945/https://www.philstar.com/news-commentary/2002/03/31/155502/145salubong146-marks-easter-sunday |archive-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref> an open space with a purpose-built scaffold (permanent or otherwise) near the church. Depending on the size and wealth of the congregation, the processions include statues of any or all the Myrrhbearers, particularly the Three Marys, along with St. Peter and St. John the Evangelist. By custom, the two processions are sex-segregated, with male worshipers following the Risen Christ, 12 men dressed as the apostles, and icons of male saints; female congregants accompany icons of the Virgin Mary and female saints. Those in the procession hold lit tapers, and often recite the rosary as a brass band plays hymns and joyful music.
The icon of the Virgin Mary, still called the {{Lang|fil|Mater Dolorosa}}, is clothed or draped in a black veil ({{Langx|tgl|lambóng}}) to show her bereavement.<ref name="PhilStar-Salubong" /> An "angel" (often a small girl in costume) stands at or is suspended in mid-air from the ''{{Lang|fil|Galilea}}''. From this lofty perch, the angel chants the Marian antiphon "''Regina Caeli''" ("Queen of Heaven") in Latin or in the vernacular,<ref name="Viray-UPD">{{Cite journal |last=Viray |first=Bryan Levina |title=Greeting the Virgin Mary: The Dancerly Attitudes of the Bati in Salubong |url=https://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/jescl/article/viewFile/6892/5979 |journal=Narrativizing Dancing Bodies |publisher=University of the Philippines Diliman |pages=100–101 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200904064654/https://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/jescl/article/viewFile/6892/5979 |archive-date=September 4, 2020 |access-date=April 8, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> sometimes accompanied by schoolchildren representing the angelic choirs. The high point is when the main angel dramatically removes the veil from the Virgin's icon, signalling the abrupt end to her grieving and the period of mourning.<ref name="PhilStar-Salubong" /> The veil may simply be pulled off the statue, or tied to balloons or doves released into the dawn sky. The sorrowing Virgin is thus ritually transformed into {{Lang|fil|Nuestra Señora de Alegría}} (Our Lady of Joy); in celebratory veneration, the angels throw flower petals at the icons of the Christ and the Virgin as confetti rains down. The moment is punctuated by church bells pealing, brass bands playing, and fireworks. The reunited congregation then gathers inside the church for the first Mass of Easter Day.
==Notable observances and pilgrimage sites==
=== Minglanilla, Cebu=== The traditional ''{{Lang|ceb|Sugat}}''—the meeting of the risen Christ with the Blessed Virgin Mary—signals the start of the new liturgical calendar. The Minglanilla Sugat is a yearly spectacle of ''"''little angels''"'' (played by children) descending from the sky held at dawn of Easter Sunday. {{Lang|ceb|Sugat}}, the religious activity mainly based on the biblical narration of Jesus's resurrection, in later years became attached to the cultural ''Kabanhawan Festival,'' thus becoming the ''Sugat-Kabanhawan Festival.''<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fuentes |first1=Kaiser Jan |title=Minglanilla's 'Sugat' draws 26,000 spectators |url=https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1958173/cebu/local-news/minglanillas-sugat-draws-26000-spectators |access-date=16 July 2023 |work=SunStar |date=9 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410223449/https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1958173/cebu/local-news/minglanillas-sugat-draws-26000-spectators |archive-date=10 April 2023 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref>
===Tondo, Manila=== ''Caridad'' or ''Pakaridad'' is a way of giving or sharing food (especially ''ginataan'' or ''suman'') to the neighbors, local church, chapel for the crowds of people who attend the Good Friday procession.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fenix |first=Mickey |date=February 25, 2021 |title=Why do Filipinos eat processed fish, not fresh, during Lent? |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |url=https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/379668/why-do-filipinos-eat-processed-fish-not-fresh-during-lent/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225191917/https://lifestyle.inquirer.net/379668/why-do-filipinos-eat-processed-fish-not-fresh-during-lent/ |archive-date=February 25, 2021}}</ref> A complimentary drink of water is also given by local residents living along the processional route.
===The Black Nazarene, Manila=== The Black Nazarene icon, brought from Mexico during the Galleon Trade era, is enshrined in Quiapo Church. It is considered miraculous by devotees. It is brought out for procession every Good Friday, one of three such occasions when this is done—the other two being New Year's Eve and the Feast of the Black Nazarene on January 9. The statue is borne on the shoulders of male devotees in a slow, difficult procession around the narrow streets of the district, with a score of men struggling to keep the image moving on as thousands try to push their way to touch the icon as well as the long ropes on which the bier is pulled. The procession lasts the whole morning.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Orellana |first=Faye |date=April 19, 2019 |title=Black Nazarene procession: A story of faith and struggle |language=en |newspaper=Philippine Daily Inquirer |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1108540/black-nazarene-procession-a-story-of-faith-and-struggle |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419095307/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1108540/black-nazarene-procession-a-story-of-faith-and-struggle |archive-date=April 19, 2019}}</ref>
No such processions were held in 2020 and 2021, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. In 2022, the Black Nazarene procession returned with a motorcade,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Black Nazarene motorcade on Good Friday |first=Leslie Ann |last=Aquino |work=Manila Bulletin |date=April 14, 2022 |url=https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/14/black-nazarene-motorcade-on-good-friday/ |access-date=April 29, 2024}}</ref> but crowd control problems forced organizers to cancel it.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Black Nazarene procession called off due to crowd control woes |first=John Eric |last=Mendoza |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1583281/fwd-black-nazarene-procession-cancelled-due-to-uncontrolled-crowd-police |work=Inquirer |date=April 15, 2022 |access-date=April 29, 2024}}</ref> A successful motorcade was conducted in 2023,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rita |first=Joviland |date=April 7, 2023 |title=20,000 devotees joined Nazareno motorcade on Good Friday, says Quiapo Church |language=en |work=GMA News Online |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/866275/20-000-devotees-joined-nazareno-motorcade-on-good-friday-says-quiapo-church/story/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407052405/https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/866275/20-000-devotees-joined-nazareno-motorcade-on-good-friday-says-quiapo-church/story/ |archive-date=April 7, 2023}}</ref> however, and in 2024 the traditional form of the procession—with the image on its {{Lang|fil|ándas}} (the shoulder-borne palanquins of religious images)''—''returned.<ref>{{Cite news|title=760,000 devotees join Black Nazarene's procession on Good Friday |first=Richielyn |last=Canlas |work=Manila Bulletin |date=March 29, 2024 |url=https://mb.com.ph/2024/03/29/760-000-devotees-join-black-nazarene-s-procession-on-good-friday-1 |access-date=April 29, 2024}}</ref>
===Amulet hunting=== It is a folk belief in the Philippines that ''anting-anting'' (traditional amulets) are especially potent if collected, made, or imbued with power on Good Friday.<ref name="GMA-AntingAnting">{{Cite news |last=Viernes |first=Franchesca |date=April 13, 2022 |title=Why is anting-anting believed to be more potent during Holy Week? |language=en |work=GMA News Online |url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandculture/828506/why-is-anting-anting-believed-to-be-more-potent-during-holy-week/story/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413153537/https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandculture/828506/why-is-anting-anting-believed-to-be-more-potent-during-holy-week/story/ |archive-date=April 13, 2022}}</ref> In Sipalay, Negros Occidental many ''albularyo'' (witch doctors) search for ''anting-anting'' in unexplored caves. There is a particular type of ''anting-anting'' for every need: passing exams, childbirth, protection from danger, love, good business, and invincibility. Holy Week also attracts folk healers who gather and showcase their amulets' power in plazas.
''Antingeros'' (talisman aficionados) go to Mt. Banahaw, believed to be a sacred mountain, on Good Friday to empower their amulets there themselves. Believers of ''anting-anting'' claim that the best time to recharge the spiritual energy of a talisman is Good Friday night.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dantes |first=Angelica Louise |date=April 1, 2015 |title=Understanding anting-anting and why it is a 'hot item' during Holy Week |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com.ph/business-ideas/Understanding-anting-anting-and-why-it-is-a-hot-item-during-Holy-Week |website=Entrepreneur Philippines |access-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502051437/https://www.entrepreneur.com.ph/business-ideas/Understanding-anting-anting-and-why-it-is-a-hot-item-during-Holy-Week |url-status=dead }}</ref> Different groups also identify their own special places for "recharging" their amulets, such as cemeteries, mountain tops, and churches. Recharging is usually done through repeatedly chanting Latin incantations, copies of which may also be purchased, while holding the talisman.
===Holy Week Processions=== On Holy Wednesday, a procession is held in Paete, Laguna with its 53 images of Christ's life and death. The procession goes through the town's narrow streets en route to the church.<ref name="MB-HolyWednesdayProcessions">{{Cite news |last=Garcia |first=Patrick |date=March 27, 2018 |title=Solemn processions set this Holy Wednesday |work=Manila Bulletin |url=https://mb.com.ph/2018/03/27/solemn-processions-set-this-holy-wednesday/ |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230411143036/https://mb.com.ph/2018/03/27/solemn-processions-set-this-holy-wednesday/ |archive-date=April 11, 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref> It stops three times for the {{Lang|fil|Salubong}} (Meeting), during which Paete's "moving saints" depict each of the three scenes of Jesus' passion: (1) the meeting of Christ and Mary, held on the church patio; (2) the wiping of Jesus' face by Veronica, held at Plaza Edesan; and (3) the encounter between Mary and Veronica at which Veronica shows Mary the miraculous imprints of Christ's face on her cloth, held at the town plaza.
In San Pablo, Laguna the Good Friday procession consists of huge, centuries-old statues bedecked in fresh flowers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Taningco |first=Ruben E. |date=March 12, 2018 |title=San Pablo City plaza temporary closed to traffic on Good Friday |work=Philippine News Agency |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1028334 |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408072411/https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1028334 |archive-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Sepe |first=Fernando Jr. |date=April 2, 2013 |title=SLIDESHOW: Carrozas del Sol |work=ABS-CBN News |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/04/02/13/slideshow-carrozas-del-sol |url-status=unfit |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230408072716/https://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/04/02/13/slideshow-carrozas-del-sol |archive-date=April 8, 2023}}</ref> In olden times, the most famous processions were those of Saint Bartholomew of Malabon, Metro Manila; Pateros, Metro Manila; Binan, Laguna; and Tuguegarao, Cagayan. Unfortunately, the Holy Week images from Cagayan were destroyed by the war, as were the {{Lang|es|Tres Caidas}} ("Three Falls," representing Christ's falls as he carried his cross) of Binan.
In the 1970s, the Holy Week Procession of Malabon consisted of 30 silver {{Lang|es|carrozas}}, which are floats or carriages. The highlight used to be the {{Lang|es|Tres Caidas}}, either from Talleres Maximo or Asuncion, but today this is no longer in the Good Friday procession.
The most famous procession in Manila during the period between World Wars I and II was in Santa Cruz, but almost all the images were destroyed during Manila's aerial bombardment in 1945. Today, Makati has a major Holy Wednesday procession aside from the usual one on Good Friday. Both processions, held in the city proper, have some of the oldest images.
===Passion plays===
==== {{Lang|fil|Senákulo}} ==== [[File:Passionplayjf1974 04.JPG|thumb|''{{Lang|fil|Senákulo}}'' in Bulacan]]
Many towns have their own versions of the ''{{Lang|fil|Senákulo}}'', the dramatic re-enactment of Christ's Passion and Death, using traditional scripts decades or centuries-old.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 4, 2017 |title=Senakulo: Holy Week street plays in the Philippines reenact Jesus' life, Passion |url=https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/philippines-holy-week-street-plays-reenact-jesus-life-passion#footnote1_no8nh1w |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809060444/https://www.catholicsandcultures.org/philippines-holy-week-street-plays-reenact-jesus-life-passion |archive-date=August 9, 2020 |access-date=April 8, 2023 |website=Catholics & Cultures |language=en}}</ref> One version is held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Pasay, Metro Manila, sponsored by the Department of Tourism, in which popular film and television stars often join the cast of the play.<ref>{{Cite news |date=March 19, 2013 |title=Senakulo play at CCP this week |work=ABS-CBN News |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/03/19/13/senakulo-play-ccp-week |access-date=April 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230409072006/https://news.abs-cbn.com/lifestyle/03/19/13/senakulo-play-ccp-week |archive-date=April 9, 2023 |url-status=unfit}}</ref> In Taguig, Metro Manila, the popularized modern version of ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is shown at the Fort Santiago Amphitheater. In Mexico, Pampanga and Dinalupihan, Bataan, the actor portraying Jesus has actually been nailed to the cross to simulate Christ's crucifixion.
===={{Lang|fil|Pagtaltal sa Guimaras}}==== {{Lang|hil|Ang Pagtaltal}} is a Lenten presentation staged on the hillside of Jordan, Guimaras, every Good Friday, similar to the Passion Play in Oberammergau in southern Bavaria, Germany.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Guia |first=Jhaypee |date=June 30, 2012 |title=Ang Pagtaltal: Guimaras' Lenten Presentation |url=https://www.vigattintourism.com/tourism/articles/Ang-Pagtaltal-Guimaras-Lenten-Presentation |website=Vigattin Tourism}}</ref> {{Lang|hil|Pagtaltal}} means "to remove," and occurs in the name of the drama because the presentation ends with the body of Jesus removed from the cross and laid in the arms of the Blessed Virgin Mary—a familiar scene known as the ''Pietà''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Piccio |first=Belle |date=April 15, 2014 |title=Pagtaltal sa Guimaras |url=https://www.choosephilippines.com/go/history-and-culture/1296/pagtaltal-sa-guimaras |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190501043441/https://www.choosephilippines.com/go/history-and-culture/1296/pagtaltal-sa-guimaras |url-status=usurped |archive-date=May 1, 2019 |website=ChoosePhilippines}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Lena |first=Perla |date=March 22, 2018 |title=Security preps in place for Guimaras' 'Pagtaltal sa Balaan Bukid' |work=Philippine News Agency |url=https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1029716 |access-date=April 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827164049/https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1029716 |archive-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref>
Backed by a strong Christian community, Jordan has registered its first festival in ''Pagtaltal sa Jordan, Guimaras'', a Good Friday spectacle. This saga of Christ's sufferings is enacted with intense spirituality, religious realism, theatrical color, and mass appeal that outclass other presentations of similar flavor.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}} The increase in spectators, both local and foreign, who brave the summer heat to witness the ''Pagtaltal'' indicates its popularity.<ref name=":1" />
===Moriones Festival=== [[File:The Moriones Walk.jpg|thumb|Moriones Walk during the Moriones Festival]]
The Moriones Festival in the island province of Marinduque commemorates the story of the Roman centurion Longinus ({{Langx|tgl|San Longhino}}) and his legendary conversion at the foot of the cross.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Erven |first=Eugene van |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A6mEAgAAQBAJ |title=Community Theatre: Global Perspectives |date=September 11, 2002 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-65636-3 |pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=A6mEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 31–32] |language=en |access-date=April 9, 2023}}</ref>
The Moriones Festival is a synthesis of Catholicism and folk mysticism.<ref>{{Cite web |title=11 Best Festivals to Join in the Philippines {{!}} Guide to t... |url=https://guidetothephilippines.ph/articles/history-culture/best-festivals-philippines |access-date=March 29, 2022 |website=Guide to the Philippines |language=en}}</ref> The townsfolk of Boac, Gasan, and Mogpog dress in masks and helmets (''moriones''), depicting Roman soldiers. The rest of the locals portray St. Longinus and hide among the houses while the others search for him. Unlike most of the country, Marinduque observes Holy Week in a much more joyous manner.<ref name=":0" />
===''Salubong dances''=== ====''Saboy''==== The {{Lang|fil|Saboy}} is a traditional dance performed by girls on Easter Sunday in Las Piñas, Metro Manila.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bernardo |first=Jaehwa |date=April 11, 2020 |title=Coronavirus lockdown halts Easter traditions |work=ABS-CBN News |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/life/04/11/20/coronavirus-lockdown-halts-easter-traditions |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411113430/https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/04/11/20/coronavirus-lockdown-halts-easter-traditions |archive-date=April 11, 2020}}</ref> The dance is divided into two parts, the "mourning" section and the "joyful" version. The first dancer is the {{Lang|fil|Salubong}} Angel, who often has large wings and bears a black veil. The second group—comprising most of the dancers— are the {{Lang|fil|Hosanna}} angels, dressed in white, who usually hold baskets with rose petals. The third group are the {{Lang|fil|Tres Marías}} (Three Marys): three older girls dressed in pink and bearing baskets. Last are the blue-clad {{Lang|fil|kapitana}} (captainess) and {{Lang|fil|tinyentera}} (female lieutenants). The {{Lang|fil|kapitana}} is distinguished by the large banner she waves, while the {{Lang|fil|tinyentera}} swing a thurible, a small metal incense burner suspended by chains.
==== ''{{Lang|fil|Sayaw ng Pagbatì}}'' ==== {{more citations needed|section=yes|date=March 2024}} [[File:Ibaan Sayaw ng Pagbati (002) 2024-03-31.jpg|thumb|''{{Lang|fil|Sayaw ng Pagbatì}}'' in Ibaan, Batangas]]
The {{Lang|fil|Sayaw ng Pagbatì}} (Dance at the Greeting or Welcome Dance)—or {{Lang|fil|Bati-bati}} for short—<ref name="ParanaqueGovPH-Salubong">{{Cite news |title=Salubong/Easter Vigil & Pasko ng Pagkabuhay/Feast of the Resurrection (Easter Sunday) |work=Parañaque City Government |url=https://paranaquecity.gov.ph/?p=318 |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719032434/https://paranaquecity.gov.ph/?p=318 |archive-date=July 19, 2022}}</ref> is an Easter ritual dance that illustrates the devotion of the local faithful. The dance varies from town to town, with the most prominent versions found in Angono, Rizal, and Ibaan, Batangas, as well as in Parañaque, Metro Manila.<ref name="researchgate" />
In Parañaque, Metro Manila, the ''{{Lang|fil|Sayaw ng Pagbatì}}'' is the official city cultural dance. On Easter Sunday morning right after Mass and the ''Salubong'' (Encounter) between the images of the Risen Christ and the Blessed Mother, beribboned girls from the various barangays of Parañaque clad in white gowns file in front of St. Andrew Cathedral in La Huerta village for a street-dance showdown.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dalogdog |first=Michael |date=April 1, 2018 |title='Sayaw ng Pagbati' |url=https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/sayaw-ng-pagbati/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405203526/https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/sayaw-ng-pagbati/ |archive-date=April 5, 2018 |access-date=April 8, 2023 |website=CBCP News |publisher=Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines}}</ref> Accompanied by marching bands or a musical recording, they dance and wave wands in the air for hours until noon.
In Ibaan, Batangas, the version of the dance consists of a lady who acts as the ''kapitana'', similar to the ''Saboy'' but accompanied by two male escorts.<ref name="researchgate">{{Cite journal |last=Tamayo |first=Jose Antonio Lorenzo L. |date=March 31, 2023 |title=Sayaw ng Bati: A Perspective on Transculturation of the Spanish Colonial Heritage in the Southern Tagalog Region of the Philippines |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/369659199 |journal=Különleges Bánásmód - Interdiszciplináris folyóirat |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=174 |doi=10.18458/KB.2023.1.173 |access-date=April 9, 2023 |via=ResearchGate|doi-access=free }}</ref> In nearby Rosario, the ''Pagbati'' is traditionally composed of three young ladies dancing to the music of a local brass band.<ref>{{cite web |title=Pagbati in Rosario |url=https://www.philstar.com/nation/2003/04/20/203090/pagbati-rosario |website=Philstar.com |publisher=Philstar Global |date=20 April 2003}}</ref> They are dressed in white for the actual Easter Sunday dance early in the morning, though clad more colorfully on the Black Saturday rehearsal dance held in the evening. The dance is accompanied by gracefully waving a flag.
In Angono, Rizal, the traditional ''Salubong'' rites consist of a ''kapitana'' and ''tenyenta'' who perform a religious dance to the tune of ''Bati''. The ''tenyenta'' is the first to perform the dance to the tune of a gavotte. Then the ''kapitana'' recites the traditional poem offered to the Virgin Mary, called ''Dicho'' (short expression of a general truth or wisdom) and consisting of 31 stanzas and 124 verses. Finally, the ''kapitana'' performs the dance to a ''valse'' (waltz).{{cn|date=March 2024}}
In Taytay, Rizal, there is a revived traditional Easter greeting dance consisting of the ''kapitana'' and her four councilors or assistants (''konsehala''). The Taytay Municipal Mayor Allan Martine de Leon brought back this tradition in March 2023. The ''kapitana at Mga Konsehala'' represents the five barangays in the municipality: Dolores, San Isidro, Santa Ana, San Juan, and Muzon.{{cn|date=March 2024}}
In Cainta, Rizal, the rites consist of a ''kapitana'' who performs the dance to the tune of ''Marcha'' and ''Modanza''. The four captainesses (''kapitana apatan'') represent the barangays of Cainta: San Roque, San Andres, San Juan, and Barrio Dayap (consisting of Barangays Santo Domingo, Santa Rosa, and Santo Niño).{{cn|date=March 2024}}
==See also== {{portal|Christianity|Philippines}} * Binignit * Black Nazarene * Good Friday processions in Baliwag * Holy Week in Paete * Hispanic influence on Filipino culture * ''Pasyon'' * ''Eat Bulaga! Lenten Specials''
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}} * {{Cite web|url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2011/04/18/the-unique-and-varied-observance-of-holy-week-in-the-philippines/|title=The unique and varied observance of Holy Week in the Philippines|website=Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines|date=April 18, 2011}} * {{Cite news|title=Good Friday traditions, solemn rites held today |url=http://ph.news.yahoo.com/good-friday-traditions-solemn-rites-held-today-082220048.html |work=Manila Bulletin |date=21 April 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227193222/http://ph.news.yahoo.com/good-friday-traditions-solemn-rites-held-today-082220048.html |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |via=Yahoo News}} * {{Cite news|title=Holy Wednesday Focuses On Judas' Betrayal Of Jesus |first=Christina I. |last=Hermoso |url=http://www.mb.com.ph/article.php?aid=5223&sid=1&subid=1 |date=March 29, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130416095035/http://www.mb.com.ph/article.php?aid=5223&sid=1&subid=1 |archive-date=April 16, 2013 |work=Manial Bulletin}} * {{Cite news|url=http://www.breakingnews.ph/158541/tourists-witness-good-friday-procession-baliwag |title=Tourists witness Good Friday procession in Baliwag}} * {{Cite web|url=https://cbcpnews.net/visitaiglesia/ |title=Online Visita Iglesia |website=CBCP News}}
{{Catholic Church in the Philippines}} {{Easter}}
Category:Holy Week in the Philippines Category:Christian festivals in the Philippines