IT was always one of those days where people wake up early and dress up at their best.
Even relatives from the provinces come, with houses holding reunions as if it was Christmas day.
After all, Easter Sunday is also called Pasko ng Pagkabuhay.
But with a crisis this serious gripping not only the country but the entire globe, tradition has to take a backseat to precaution.
And the grand culmination of the Lenten season: the first meeting of the Risen Lord Jesus Christ and his sorrowful Mother Mary — the Salubong — is no exception.
In Malabon, the Salubong is always a festive occasion, with different churches holding their own celebrations, some even staging the event as early as 12 midnight.
People need not to come to the church to attend a mass. Rather, the mass came to the people.
In this celebration, ornate decorations change from year to year. Gospel music gets blasted from the speakers on the wee hours of the morning as people slowly trickle into the streets of T. Santos and C. Arellano, turning the sleepy intersection into a church of its own — all in anticipation for the 5 a.m. mass.
No less than the bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Caloocan celebrates the mass, along with parish priests from nearby churches.
Right as the eucharistic celebration comes to a close at 6 a.m., the statues of the Risen Lord and the Blessed Mother come in on separate processions and converge in front of the stage.
What makes this unique is that a dove will be lowered from the Galilea — directly below the ceiling — to remove the black veil on the statue of Mary.
The dove gets raised again, signaling the release of the balloons and lighting of the fireworks as confetti rains down on the devotees.
This year, however, observance of the Holy Week activities have been limited to single-vehicle processions, if there are any.
There were no roadside construction of the makeshift stage in front of the Rufina Patis factory, usually beginning in mid-March.
The site was quiet this Easter Sunday, a far cry from the years past.
The street directly in front of the factory was cordoned off by plants, ropes, and tape, restricting entry to T. Santos street.
At the far end of the road, there was a single disinfection station as a reminder to those who wished to enter -- replacing the usual communion stations peppered along the adjacent roads.
For the first time in recent memory, the annual Salubong celebration has no familiar procession or celebration. Most devotees stayed indoors and watched their church livestream on social media.
No balloons released. No fireworks lit.
It's a weird sight to see, indeed, but that's just how the world has to operate in the light of this global COVID-19 pandemic.
For now, as Easter passes, the only hope is for the world to soon rise from this crisis.
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