Good Friday Aerial

Good Friday, (Biyernes Santo) is a public holiday, commemorated with solemn street processions, the Way of the Cross, the commemoration of Jesus' Seven Last Words (”Siete Palabras”) and the Senákulo, which in some places is a week-long affair. Mass is not celebrated during this day but the people gather at the church for the Veneration of Cross which is celebrated at three in the afternoon. Communion is also given on this day but the hosts to be distributed to the people are pre-consecrated on the Mass of the Lord's Supper. In some communities (most famously in the province of Pampanga), the processions include devotees who self-flagellate and sometimes even have themselves nailed to crosses as expressions of penance, in fulfilment of a vow, or in thanksgiving for a prayer granted. The pabasa or marathon chanting of the Pasyon (the Filipino epic narrative of Christ's life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection), usually concludes on this day. Television and radio stations also air Siete Palabras services from different large churches in Manila, usually beginning at noon.