IN celebration of the Lenten season next week, Holy Wednesday, which falls on March 28, has been declared as a nonworking day for public offices in Manila.
The announcement came from the memorandum issued by the Office of the Mayor to all heads of departments, offices, bureaus and employees of the city government.
This directive noted by Mayor Joseph E. Estrada gives all state workers in the city “ample time to prepare for the holidays in observance of Holy Week.”
Exempted from the order, however, are local offices whose functions are critical to ensure the safety and security of the public, especially those engaged in religious activities related to the occasion.
These include the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau, Manila Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, Department of Public Service, Manila Department of Social Welfare, Department of Engineering and Public Works, and City Electrician’s Office.
Nationwide, Maundy Thursday (March 29), Good Friday (March 30) and Black Saturday (March 31) are national holidays.
The Philippines, which is the only Catholic nation in Asia, is set to commemorate Holy Week, or Semana Santa in Filipino, from March 25 to April 1.
Lent or cuaresma is the season when Filipinos remember Christ’s Passion (His Suffering and Death) and Resurrection. It starts on Ash Wednesday, 40 days prior to Easter Sunday.
Holy Week is celebrated by Roman Catholics from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Traditionally, it is a solemn time for serious atonement.
Priests and religious statues are dressed in purple to symbolize gloom. Devotees go to church everyday and perform religious sacrifices, including fasting, abstinence and alms-giving. Other religious rites include the Pabasa (the “reading” or chanting of verses about the suffering of Christ), Visita Iglesia (a visit to 14 churches symbolizing the 14 Stations of the Cross) and other religious activities.