The Philippine national government already announced a long holiday for the Holy Week 2014 celebration. The Roman Catholic of the Philippines will enjoy a three-day vacation excluding Sunday.
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Starting on April 17, Filipinos will celebrate Maundy Thursday and on the next day, April 18, Good Friday will be celebrated, the two-day holiday. The Malacanang already declared the two-day celebration as Regular Holiday.
The government also declared the Black Saturday on April 19, as a Special Non-Working Holiday nationwide. The month of April is considered as the busiest holiday month of the year with its four holidays after the April 9, “Araw ng Kagitingan” celebration.
The Holy Week 2014 will start on April 13, as the Roman Catholics will celebrate “Palm Sunday.” Although the Holy Week will start on Sunday, Filipinos from different parts of the Philippines started their celebration of the Lenten Season 40 days before Easter Sunday, beginning on March 5, 2014 and will end on Thursday April 17, 2014.
Holy Week celebration in the Philippines is considered as one of the most important date of the year aside from Christmas, most families held their reunions during the Holy Week because of the long break from their respective jobs.
During Holy Week most Roman Catholics typically abstain from meat and dairy, alcohol, and follow a stricter moral code. Most Catholic abstain from eating meat during Maundy Thursday and Good Friday but one place in Cebu enjoyed eating meat during the Holy Week.
According to the Philippine history, only the island of Bantayan in northern Cebu is exempted from not eating meat during Holy Week, based upon the “Papal Indult” issued to the people of Bantayan Island.
The Holy Week celebration in Bantayan is considered as one of the grandest celebration in Philippines, the tiny island was even dubbed by tourists as the “Lenten Capital of the Visayas.”
