[6] The fronds (considered by the Church as sacramentals) are often brought home and placed on altars, doors, lintels or windows, in the belief that these can ward off demons, and avert both fires and lightning.

The presiding priest, vested in a stole and cope of red (the prescribed liturgical color of the day), either walks the route or, in imitation of Jesus’ triumphal entry, is led on horseback to the church.

[7] Whether the priest himself or a statue is used to represent Christ, a custom is for women to cover the processional route with tapis (literally, “wraparound”), which are large, heirloom cloth skirts or aprons made exclusively for this ritual.

[10] In the evening, long processions depicting the Passion of Christ are held in towns throughout the provinces of Pampanga, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and in the Ilocandia, as well as in Makati in Metro Manila.

This was later transferred to Holy Wednesday for Latin Rite Catholics, with the Philippine Independent Church (which separated from Rome in the early 20th century) retaining the Maundy Thursday date.

[11] Throughout the day, worshipers pray the Stations of the Cross inside or outside the church, while at night, the faithful pay obeisance and perform supplications to the Blessed Sacrament within the Altar of Repose.

It is observed with street processions, the Way of the Cross, sermons and prayers meditating on Jesus' Seven Last Words (“Siete Palabras”) and the staging of Senákulo, which in some places has already begun on Palm Sunday.

Nationwide, the veneration service begins silently in unlit churches at 3:00 PM PST (GMT+8), remembering the “ninth hour” that was the instant Christ died according to the Gospels.

In some places (most famously in the province of Pampanga, where the day is known as Maleldo), processions include devotees who flagellate and sometimes even have themselves nailed to crosses, most notably Ruben Enaje.

[18] Other penitents, called magdarame, carry wooden crosses, crawl on the rough and hot pavement, and slash their backs before whipping themselves to draw blood.

[19] The pabasa, or continuous chanting of the Pasyón (the Filipino epic narrative of Christ's life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection), usually concludes on this day before 3:00 PM.

Tradition dictates that regardless of the number of images used in the procession, that of the Virgin Mary, dressed in black vestments as the mourning Mater Dolorosa, is alone in her sorrow and always the last as a mark of her importance.

[22] In Alimodian, Iloilo the Santo Entierro is interred – not by the altar as is customary elsewhere – but at the church doors for the people to venerate, usually by kissing the icon's feet.

During Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, a gathering of men in Tanay and Taytay, Rizal province, assemble around the parish church, engaging in feasting and contemplation throughout the night in anticipation of the Santo Entierro statue for the Subok Festival.

[23] Various items such as handkerchiefs, bronze medals, and small papers inscribed with Latin phrases are placed within the robe, beneath the feet, and in the hands of the deceased Christ figure.

[23] Among the country's famous and elaborate calandras are those of Agoo, Bacolor, Baliwag, Guagua, Molo, Iloilo, Paete, San Pablo, Sasmuan, Silay, and Vigan.

Children, in particular, were traditionally discouraged from outdoor play, with elders cautioning that since “God is dead”, evil spirits are freely roaming the earth to harm humans.

The ritual mourning and generally sombre mood of the day gave rise to the Tagalog idiom “Mukhâ kang Biyernes Santo” (“You’ve a face like Good Friday.”) The phrase refers to a sad person's demeanor resembling that of the suffering Christ.

Statues of both are borne in two separate processions that converge at a designated area called a Galilea (“Galilee”),[29] which is often an open space with a purpose-built scaffold (permanent or otherwise) near the church.

The high point is when the principal angel dramatically removes the veil from the Virgin's icon, signalling the abrupt end to her grieving and the period of mourning.

Sugat, the religious activity mainly based on the biblical narration of Jesus's resurrection, in later years became attached to the cultural "Kabanhawan Festival,” thus "Sugat-Kabanhawan Festival.”[31] Caridad or Pakaridad is a way of giving or sharing food (especially ginataan or suman) to the neighbors or to the local church or chapel to be given to the crowds of people who attend the Good Friday procession.

The statue is borne on the shoulders of male devotees in a slow, difficult procession around the narrow streets of the district, a score of men struggle to keep the image moving on.

[43] A version is held at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, sponsored by the Department of Tourism; popular film and televisions stars often join the cast of the play.

Ang Pagtaltal is a holy Lenten presentation staged on the hillside of Jordan, Guimaras every Good Friday, patterned to Oberammergau in Southern Bavaria, Germany.

This saga of the sufferings of Christ is enacted with intense spirituality, religious realism, theatrical color, and mass appeal that outclass other presentation of similar flavor.

[45] The Moriones Festival in the island province of Marinduque commemorates the story of the Roman centurion, Longinus (Tagalog: San Longhino) and his legendary conversion at the foot of the cross.

On Easter Sunday morning right after Mass and the Salubong (Encounter) between the images of the Risen Christ and the Blessed Mother, beribboned girls from the various barangays of Parañaque clad in white gowns file in front of St. Andrew Cathedral in La Huerta village for a street dance showdown.

[53] Taking their cue from the marching bands or from a recording, they will dance for hours till noon to the tune of joyful music as they wave their wands in the air.

In the province of Batangas, this version performed in the municipality of Ibaan consists of a lady who acts as the Kapitana, similar to Saboy, but accompanied with two male escorts.

[citation needed] In the municipality of Taytay, Rizal, there is a revived traditional Easter greeting dance consisting of Kapitana and her four councilors or assistants (konsehala).