Sunday, April 24, 2011

Salubong 2011

April 24, 2011

It was 4:00 am when my brother woke me up to tell me that it is time to go the the Plaza to see the Annual Easter Salubong. Salubong in Tagalog literally means come across or meet at a certain point. This is an annual Filipino Catholic Tradition where there are two Processions, the ladies together with the Virgin Mary with the Black Veil and the Men together with the Risen Christ. They will roam around a certain route until they meet at a certain point in the Town Proper.

At the point where they will meet, Angels will start singing the Regina Coeli, a Latin Prayer which is substituted to the Angelus every Easter. It goes something like this:

Regina coeli, laetare, alleluia:
Quia quem meruisti portare, alleluia.
Resurrexit sicut dixit, alleluia.
Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia.
Gaude et laetare, Virgo Maria, Alleluia,
Quia surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia.

Then in the middle of the Celebration, a little boy will be reciting a poem about the Resurrection of Christ and the lead Angel will be removing the Black Veil of the Virgin Mary showing that the Virgin Mary has now rejoiced at the sight of His Son. After that, Christ and Mary together with all the devout parishoners will march together on their way to the Church at the sound of the karakol, a traditional Filipino Band March that is done and danced along the streets every Town Fiesta.

This is truly one of the best parts of the Holy Week in the Philippines, People gather to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. Being a Christian, I have always believed that these are just rituals and commemorations that truly shows how rich the Filipino culture is and how relevant the Spanish People have influenced Filipino Traditions then and up until now.

Mabuhay si Hesus! Sapagkat sya ay muling nabuhay! At mabubuhay magpakailanman!
Long Live Jesus! For He has risen! And will reign forever!

6 comments:

  1. Looks like a wonderful way to celebrate Easter! Last night we went to the Easter Vigil worship service which was 2.5 hours long. Now we'll get ready to leave soon for the Easter morning service!
    Happy Easter to you and yours, Steven!

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  2. Leif - Thank you so much Leif! We also have Easter Vigils here in the Philippines and my brother usually takes part on it too :) Easter Sunday is about to end here in the Philippines and about to start there! Happy Easter Leif! God Bless you more and your family!

    Steven^^

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  3. JM - Thank you so much JM! Have a Happy Easter as well! God Bless you more and more :)

    Steven^^

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  4. I really love having Easter Vigil and the Salubong! Those activities are one of my favorites. The salubong here in Pagbilao, Quezon was so early. They started at around 11 in the evening (Black Saturday) so that more people can attend the Salubong

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  5. Reader from Pagbilao, Quezon - Thank you so much for sharing your story about the Easter Vigil in your Beautiful town of Pagbilao! I once went there years ago on our way from Bicol.

    Hope to see you back again in Cavite Daily photo!

    Steven^^

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Mabuhay! Welcome to Cavite Daily Photo! Thank you so much for your comments! They really brighten up my day and my province as well! Your comments are truly appreciated and it is what keeps this blog going on!

Stevenson