Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week in commemoration of the Lord Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and the unfolding of His Passion. It finds its roots in Jewish traditions and Messianic expectations. The crowd’s enthusiastic welcome waving palm branches and shouting “Hossanah!” reflected their hope for a political Messiah who would overthrow Roman rule.
However, their misunderstanding of Jesus’ mission became evident when the same crowd, just days later, demanded his crucifixion. Salvation of the soul was beyond their comprehension.
Now, in the modern world, humans have become too preoccupied with material and mundane concerns that the spiritual aspect of life has not grown over the years, gauging spiritual growth with the manner that Holy Week has been celebrated. In fact, through the years, we have witnessed how in Baguio the Holy Week has become less and less a spiritual recollection about Jesus’ life, death, and his Resurrection from the dead, as well as the meaning of the triduum in one’s personal life.
through the years, we have witnessed how in Baguio the Holy Week has become less and less a spiritual recollection about Jesus’ life, death, and his Resurrection from the dead, as well as the meaning of the triduum in one’s personal life
During the lifetime of our parents, who were both devout Catholics, they would make it a point to always gather us for meals and say a prayer before and after each meal. Every day of the Holy Week, my Mom Paula would gather us children to pray the holy rosary and novenas to the Blessed Virgin Mary and other saints.
On Good Friday, we would go to church and do the Stations of the Cross. We would also do the “Visita Iglesia” on Black Saturday and, of course, attend the Easter Sunday mass. Those were in the 1950s through early 1960s.
During those years, most families we knew in Baguio did observe the solemnity of the Holy Week. We also noticed that religious congregations trekked to Baguio for their annual religious retreats during Holy Week.
Rich families with summer homes in the city would come up to observe the religious activities. That the only means of communication then was through the telephone and the radio, helped in encouraging interaction among family members and neighbors, thus enhancing family solidarity.
Churches during holidays of obligation would be full of devotees dressed properly for mass. Most women wore black veils over the heads and flowed down their shoulders, almost covering half of their faces. Recreation during Holy Week was simple, almost somber. Those were among the memorable joyful years that I cherish most about Baguio.
Burnham Park was the venue of most recreations. You would see youngsters rolling their skates on the inner and outer circles of the skating rink rounding the iconic pergola at the center of the rink. Others would hire bicycles or scooters and drive around the rectangular perimeter of Burnham Lake where you could see other kids accompanied by adults rowing rented boats.
Ponies for hire were lined up at the athletic bowl for visitors to rent. Everywhere, music was on low volume, as were conversations and chats.
The residents and visitors would also go to Camp John Hay which was the rest and recreation center of American servicemen. However, they needed passes to enter the camp.
Baguio Country Club was exclusively for members and their guests only. Transportation around the city was limited to six-seater jeepneys for hire, taxis (there were only three taxi companies then, with a maximum fleet of six taxicabs) and private vehicles.
Tourist spots such as Mirador Hill, Mines View Park, Mansion House, Wright Park, Crystal Cave were the other places residents and tourists could comfortably visit.
Over the years, with the increase in migration to Baguio, more transportation facilities, communication advances, the advent of tri-media, and the discovery of tourism as an industry, the solemnity in the observance of the Holy Week slowly but surely waned and was left only to the few devotees who exercise their Christian faith during the Lenten season in order to strengthen their moral fiber to guide them for the rest of the year and beyond.
Perhaps, had their understanding of Christ’s teachings reached beyond the miracles that Jesus performed for their physical well-being, the story of Jesus Christ could have taken another direction.
