MALAYBALAY CITY (MindaNews / 03 April) – One interesting – perhaps unique – element about Filipino religiosity is the tendency to blend formal faith with folk beliefs and superstition. One example is how Filipinos observe the Holy Week, Good Friday in particular.

Foremost of these practices is abstinence from meat, especially pork on Good Friday. It’s widely held as a form of penance. I suspect this is why Filipino Christians prefer to cook tabirak or binignit on this day because its ingredients produce a delicacy that is both tasty and nutritious. Besides, fish, the alternative to meat, is now pricey, too.

Then there are practices, mostly don’ts, that simply sound absurd. These include not taking a bath or doing laundry, refraining from making loud noise or engaging in merry activities like singing and playing, not sweeping the floor, prohibiting travels, and avoiding getting wounds.

It is believed that bathing, washing clothes, and going on travel brings bad luck. Loud noise will attract evil spirits. But the most insane belief perhaps is that wounds sustained on Good Friday will take a long time to heal. How long exactly, no one knows.

Our maternal grandmother would scold us if we were rowdy or played outside the house on Good Friday. “Unsa man mo, Mahal nga Adlaw karon, namatay atong Ginoo karon (Hey, you, it’s a Holy Day, our Lord died on this day).” The naughty in me would retort, “Hey, Grandma, it’s a good day to commit sins because God wouldn’t know!”

Time and technology, and its impact on individual and social behaviors, may have obscured these beliefs. The world has become more secular, and Holy Week is now seen as more of an occasion to unwind than as a time to unload the burdens of the soul.

Nonetheless, it can be assumed that many still cling to the old ways, although, for most of these practices, there are no ready explanations how they found their way into the realm of faith. (H. Marcos C. Mordeno/MindaNews)