Holy Week Activities

Hey mommies!  Holy Week can also be a good time to bond with your children and family.  Take advantage of the long holidays.  Here are some of the activities that your family can do together, in observance of the Lenten season:

1. Palm Sunday Mass - blessing of the palaspas (palm leaves)
2. Visita Iglesia (Church Visit) -  the tradition of visiting 7 or 14 churches on Maundy Thursday and praying the 12 Stations of the Cross (Via Crusis)
3. Pabasa (Reading of the Passion) - involves the chanted or sung reading of the narrative of the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ
4. Senakulo - watching senakulo or lenten play that depicts events from the Old and New Testaments on the life, sufferings, and death of Jesus Christ. There are also street senakulos where the people are walking with the procession.
5. Watch marathon TV shows or cartoons - There are TV programs shown this Holy Week which give moral lessons and right values to the viewers.
6. Salubong - This is an Easter Sunday pre-dawn ritual that reenacts the Risen Christ's meeting with His mother. (I love to watch salubong.  In our place, it is a much-awaited activity before Easter Sunday.  It is usually done at 12:00 midnight or 4:00 AM before Easter Sunday.  People flock to watch it.) 
7. Holy Week Processions -  This is also a good time to bring along the family.  Just make sure that you are prepared for the long walk and the kids will be safe during the procession.
8. Easter Sunday -  attend mass with the whole family to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ

Holy Week is also a time for reflection and soul-searching.  May we spend it meaningfully.  Have a blessed Holy Week! ^v^