Special Features (as of 3:33 AM)
Christmas in the Spring
By LOUI GALICIA
ABS-CBN Europe News Bureau
Filipinos who have just arrived to work in Europe are in extreme culture shock to find that Holy Thursday and Good Friday are normal working days here.
But those who have been here for quite a while look forward to the joyous Easter celebration and the long three-day weekend.
Because here in Europe, Easter or the Day or Resurrection is the most important religious event observed by Roman and non-Roman Catholics. For the latter, it is more of an opportunity for a three-day breather from the very hectic life.
In fact, Monday after Easter is when almost all countries in Europe close for a holiday.
Unlike in the Philippines, there is no holy feeling during the Holy Week in Europe.
How can you do the traditional "Visita Iglesia" when churches are closed by the time one gets out of work?
How can one spend a day of reflection and prayers on Good Friday when one has to complete a 9-to-5 routine?
Very much like Christmas, Holy Week in Europe is more of a time of celebration and feasting. Shops are packed with people taking advantage of the Easter sale that offers as much as 30 percent discount.
Since Easter Monday is a big holiday, people do their shopping and groceries on either Holy Thursday or Good Friday to refill their pantries for the long weekend. At 5 in the afternoon of Black Saturday, there is a mad rush for Easter chocolate eggs, a traditional gift for children and loved ones.
Easter is very much like Christmas here. People decorate their homes with bunny figures, chicks and eggs. There is even an Easter tree adorned with grass and eggs instead of tinsels. And as red, silver, green and gold are the colors of Christmas, Easter takes on pastel green and yellow.
It is also the time for family reunions. Activities are organized for children and the young at hearts. Tradition calls for kids to wake up early on Easter morning to search for the Easter eggs hidden by the Easter bunny. Then the whole family goes to hear mass before partaking of a lavish lunch.
So what do the Filipinos in Europe, so used to the religious rites of Lent, do during Holy Week?
Nothing much.
Some join the pilgrimage to Lourdes, France praying for a miracle. Others attend out of town retreat and hold spiritual bonding with the members of their church. In many churches, a special mass for the Filipinos is celebrated complete with the rituals of "salubong." Many others go to Rome to attend the Easter mass celebrated by the Pope.
And there are those who come home to the Philippines to really experience the unique rituals of Holy Week.
To the rest of the bread-winning Filipinos in Europe, the Holy Week is just another work week.
But Easter weekend becomes their Christmas in the spring.
SOURCE: WWW.ABS-CBNNEWS.COM
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