Easter Ceremony in Pampanga in Angeles City - Philippines

The Easter Ceremony in Pampanga is one of the most visited and probably sought after events during Holy Week in the Philippines. The Easter Ceremony is also called the Cutud Lenten Rites by the locals and is celebrated every Holy Week which starts on the Monday before Good Friday and the so-called Passion is being performed and celebrated twenty-four hours every day until midnight of Good Friday.

The Easter Ceremony in Pampanga takes place mainly in the Barangay San Pedro Cutud in the City of San Fernando. The location is around 70 km north of Manila and you can reach the City of San Fernando by bus, or by car. It will take you around one hour and a half from Manila if you take the express highway. It might take even longer with the traffic in Manila.

The traditional celebrations in Pampanga start with the Passion, as mentioned earlier, every Monday of Holy Week with chanting and readings of the passion of Jesus Christ. This chanting is done by priests and nuns twenty four hours non-stop until midnight on Good Friday. These nuns and priest really read the passion out for everyone to hear and it is not recorded on a tape or anything else like that. On Good Friday a huge crowd gets together to witness the flagellants being nailed on crosses.

The procedure is just like the original passion of Jesus where each flagellant has to carry their own cross while the guards are riding on their horses. The Easter Ceremony in Pampanga begins once the flagellant has finished praying and is ready to be nailed to the cross. The nailer and the flagellant agree upon the proper placement of the alcohol soaked nail. Then the cross is hoisted up and the feet are nailed. The participants are taken down whenever they cannot bear it anymore. The Easter Ceremony in Pampanga concludes with the Easter Service.

You need no money to be able to watch the Easter Ceremony in Pampanga, but you need to calculate your spending for the travel to Pampanga and for your accommodations. You should go there a couple of days before the Holy Week which is the week wherein Easter falls, so that you will still find a suitable accommodation for yourself. The Easter Ceremony in Pampanga can offend or shock people, so be prepared for a little blood during the ceremony and bring sufficient water and sun block for the scorching heat.