Holy Week 2022 is fast approaching. In the Philippines, this is the most important week for many religious Filipinos, including Bulakenyos. Holy Week is translated as “Mahal na Araw” or “Semana Santa” in Spanish. We Filipinos use these terms interchangeably. Holy Week is observed with special solemnity as a time of devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ.
Holy Week marks the final week of the Lenten Season or Cuaresma, and it recounts the last days of Christ’s life, as well as his death, burial, and resurrection.
Lenten Season 2022 Calendar
| Event | Dates |
| Ash Wednesday | March 2 (Wednesday) |
| Palm Sunday | April 10 (Sunday) |
| Holy Monday | April 11 (Monday) |
| Holy Tuesday | April 12 (Tuesday) |
| Holy Wednesday | April 13 (Wednesday) |
| Maundy Thursday | April 14 (Thursday) |
| Good Friday | April 15 (Friday) |
| Black Saturday | April 16 (Saturday) |
| Easter Sunday | April 17 (Sunday) |
Holy Week 2022 Philippine Holidays
| Event | Dates |
| Maundy Thursday | April 14 (Thursday) |
| Good Friday | April 15 (Friday) |
| Black Saturday | April 16 (Saturday) |
Maundy Thursday and Good Friday are regular holidays, while Black Saturday is a Special Non-Working holiday.
Simplified Explanation of Lenten Season Events
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday or Miercoles de Caniza is the beginning of the penitential Lenten season. The palm leaves from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations are burned, and the ashes from it are placed on the foreheads of the participants to symbolize repentance. During a Mass, the priest, lay ministers, or nuns places the ashes on a worshiper’s forehead in the shape of a cross.
Palm Sunday
The first Sunday of Holy Week is Palm Sunday, which remembers Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. Jesus fulfills the prophecy from Zechariah when he says in Matthew 21:5, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.'”
Catholic devotees would bring palms or palaspas during Mass, and the priest would bless them with holy water. They would bring home their blessed palms and place them in their mini altars or display them in their front doors.
Maundy Thursday
Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday is the day during Holy Week that commemorates the Washing of the Feet and Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles.
The Visita Iglesia, which means Church Visit in English, is a Holy Week practice where devotees visit and pray in at least seven separate churches. This is usually done on Maundy Thursday after attending the last supper mass.
Read Visita Iglesia: A Tour to 7 of the Oldest Churches in Bulacan
Good Friday
As Christians, we remember Good Friday as the day Jesus willingly suffered and died by crucifixion as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.
Baliuag is famous for the “Prusisyon ng mga Santo,” or procession of the saints every Good Friday. More than ninety carrozas or floats of life-size religious images participate in this annual lenten rite procession. This event has become an attraction for devotees and tourists.
Pulilan, Hagonoy, and Brgy. Kapitangan in Paombong has faithful devotees doing penitensya or self-flagellation. Barefoot and with their backs bloodied by repeated flogging on Good Friday to perform a self-flagellation ritual as a means of atonement during Holy Week.
Some men go to the extremes by having themselves nailed to a cross as an ultimate act of repentance for fulfilling a panata, a vow, in atonement for their sins, or do so as a sacrificial act of thanksgiving for favors granted. The Catholic Church does not condone these acts.
Black Saturday
According to the Christian Bible, holy Saturday or Black Saturday commemorates the day that Jesus Christ lay in the tomb after his death.
I vividly remember when I was young that come Black Saturday, no television and radio programs were airing the whole day.
Easter Sunday
Easter Sunday commemorates Jesus Christ’s resurrection from death, as written in the Christian bible. In the Philippines, we call this “Pasko ng Pagkabuhay,” where families get together and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus by having a little party like it’s Christmas. We would get monetary gifts and chocolates enclosed inside easter eggs from our grandparents when we were young.