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.

§ 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.