This year, Holy Week is celebrated from Sunday, April 10 to the following Sunday, April 17, 2022. The week between Palm Sunday and Easter is marked by solemnity and is seen by Christians as a time of devotion to the Passion of Jesus Christ. Holy week used to go by the name of the Great Week as called by the Greek and Roman liturgical books. This is because according to them, great deeds were accomplished by God during this week. It was not until the 4th century that it was changed to Holy Week.
Holy Wednesday
For the devout, Holy Wednesday’s significance lies in its commemoration of the time that Judas decided to betray Jesus. It is common knowledge for Filipinos, the majority of whom are of the Christian faith, that it was Judas Iscariot that betrayed Jesus. This has led to the name of Judas or “Hudas” in Filipino to be synonymous with traitor. The book of Matthew tells of when Judas decided to betray Jesus:
“Then one of the twelve disciples—the one named Judas Iscariot—went to the chief priests and asked, ‘What will you give me if I betray Jesus to you?’ They counted out thirty silver coins and gave them to him. From then on Judas was looking for a good chance to hand Jesus over to them.”
Matthew 26:14-16
The book of Luke adds one specific detail that led to Judas decided to betray Jesus:
“and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.”
Luke 22:2-6
This paints a picture of Satan being partly to blame for Judas’ decision to betray Jesus. To the faithful, this signifies that the devil will exploit any weakness to cause one to betray the Lord.
In some parish, the “Ternabe” service is usually held on Holy Wednesday that involves the gradual extinguishing of candles on a Tenebrae hearse, readings related to the Passion of Jesus, and the strepitous (loud noise).
In the evening, long processions depicting the Passion of Christ are held in towns throughout the provinces.
Is Holy Wednesday a holiday in the Philippines?
Holy Wednesday (Miyerkules Santo) is a regular working day and is officially the last working day of the week. Private companies sometimes give full or partial holidays to their employees so they can return to their home provinces or leave for other destinations, making it one of the country’s busiest times to travel.
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