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HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE! MALIPAYONG DOMINGO SA PAGKABANHAW KANINYONG TANAN!

If you want to be technical about it, today is the real Malipayong Pasko. The Bisayan word pasko comes from the Spanish pascua, which is paschal in English or the Jewish religious "Passover."

Determining Easter Sunday

During the Council of Nice in 325 A.D. it was decided that Easter should fall on the first Sunday after the full moon following the vernal equinox. The vernal equinox occur on March 21 of each year. Easter Sunday could therefore occur between the dates March 22 to April 25. If the rule were only tied up to the vernal equinox minus the moon, the date of Easter Sunday could have only a one week variation.

The rule was simple but the difficulty was the inaccuracy of the calendar used in 325 A.D. Eventually the date for Easter Sunday became confusing because the calendar was already in error. The advent of the Gregorian calendar made the determination or prediction much easier. However, the Orthodox Catholic Church has developed a different method of determining Easter Sunday. Even the Roman Catholic Church used the Gregorian calendar in determining Easter only at the early part of the 1900s.

When the Easter Sunday is determined, the Ash Wednesday, which is 40 days before Easter Sunday is also determined. What is the significance of the 40 days of lent? It commemorates the 40 days of fasting undergone by Jesus before he started his ministry. It is the reason why Christians are also asked to fast or at least refrain from eating meat during the Lenten season. Nowadays it is further reduced to every Friday during the Lenten season.

Significance

The linchpin of Christian belief is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in order to save humanity from sin. Therefore the celebration of Easter Sunday is the most significant doctrine in Christianity.

Traditional Folkloric Rites

Last April 6 to 8, 2009, I was in Bongabong, Mindoro Oriental to attend a wedding in which I was one of the Principal Sponsors. From Manila to Bongabong and back I took the regular Bus trip.

From Calapan City, which is the capital of Mindoro Oriental I noticed many uniformed Roman soldiers in their shining armor, sword, and spear. The people of Mindoro Oriental have the folkloric rite of dressing as Roman soldiers to commemorate the search and arrest of Jesus Christ. They said that the neighboring Island Province of Marinduque had a more intricate ritual.

In Bohol we do not have this kind of ritual. We only have the Pamusà or the ritual last supper and washing of feet of the 12 disciples. Even this ritual is very much part of the Roman Catholic religious rites because it is the priest who will do the part of Jesus Christ and wash the feet of the selected 12 disciples.

Zest Air Snafu

In going to Manila and back for my trip to Mindoro Oriental, I took the Zest Air airplane on April 5, 2009. I took this airline because it will land at the old Domestic Airport in Manila. The flight from Tagbilaran was supposed to leave at 11:00 A.M. but when the passengers were all in the airplane a snafu occurred in the list of passengers and the one hour flight to Manila started at 11:45 A.M. While on the flight the stewards offered only "Zest-O" drinks or water. I took the water because I was already hungry and Zest-O drinks will disturb my hungry stomach.

During the return flight on April 9, 2009, the flight was suppose to leave at 9:30 A.M. and delays eventually made us fly at 11:15 A.M. We can consider ourselves lucky compared to those scheduled to fly to Davao City. They were supposed to leave at 4:00 A.M. and eventually at 10:00 A.M. they were transferred to a PAL flight to Davao City. Again on board the flight we were offered Zest-O drinks to pacify our hunger.

However, when we landed at Tagbilaran Airport we were handed some packed-lunch.

Why did they not offer it during the flight? It was because they were not willing to be responsible of the garbage disposal.

What worried me most while waiting at the Domestic Airport in Manila was the constant announcement that "due to the delay of the turn-around of the aircraft" the flight would be rescheduled. A former student of mine who became a maintenance technician of PAL once told me that actually "delay in the turn-around of the aircraft" means mechanical trouble in the aircraft and if it could not be fixed, the flight should be canceled. I was not worried in the aircraft maintenance because I know that it would be done properly. I was worried that the flight would be canceled because the maintenance crew could not repair the aircraft.