The Sacrifices we have to Make

Speaking of holy week, my family followed a no-meat diet during this week. It's one of the sacrifices we have to make. Before, I remember trying to fast for a day. Unfortunately, after not eating breakfast and lunch, I felt faint in the late afternoon and decided to eat something before I collapse. I guess fasting is not for me.

Every year, I try to come up with other sacrifices that I can make. There was this year when I stopped smoking the whole holy week. That was when I was still smoking. There was also a time when I promised not to eat junk food (one of my vices). This year however, I am making the hardest sacrifice that I can think of. I promised I would abstain from shopping for the whole month of April. This is quite difficult especially when there are huge sale signs plastered on store windows. Waaa!

Any suggestions for next year's holy week sacrifice? What's yours for this year?

Holy Week

Holy week brings back a lot of memories when I was a child.

I remember watching The Ten Commandments on television back in the days when cable was non-existent. Yes, you got that right, we would always watch the story of Moses and the Ten Commandments because it was the only show on air during holy week. Also the local TV stations would also show the passion of Christ. I distinctly remember crying whenever the scene of the crucifixion would come up.

Besides watching these programs on local channels, my parents and grandparents would always remind us that at this time of the year, we should not be making any noise and boisterous laughter is a big no-no. They believe that it is inappropriate to be happy at this time when Jesus Christ was suffering. That's why our house would be super quiet. We're not even allowed to play outside. I guess that was our sacrifice during holy week.

But what I really remember during holy week was when my grandmother told me that on Good Friday, we should take a bath before 3:00 p.m. as this was the time when Jesus Christ died on the cross. If in any case we haven't taken a bath before this time, we're not allowed to do so anymore and would have to take a bath the following day. The reason behind this is that if ever we would take a bath past 3:00 p.m., the water that we would be using would turn to blood signifying Jesus Christ's death. Scary right?! So my brother and cousins would always fight our way as to who gets to take a bath first. Lol!

What about you? Care to share your holy week memories?