First Lent in Xiamen

Lent is never really that hard in the Philippines (in general), because we’re a predominantly Catholic/Christian country. It’s only now that I’m on my 2nd or 3rd time away from the Philippines during this season that I can see how we sometimes take the season for granted. Having daily masses, and even having at least 3-5 masses a day on Sundays, these are things you cannot find in China. When I was in Beijing last year, Lent was difficult for me because the Church was far away, even by subway. The only days I was able to attend mass for that season were Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Now that it’s just a little more convenient (as compared to Beijing) that I am able to attend mass here in Xiamen, I try to attend mass each Sunday.

Coincidentally, the Sunday that passed by was Palm Sunday, which coincided with the weekend before 清明节 (Qing Ming Jie/Tomb-sweeping Holiday) which is when Chinese go back to their hometowns to visit graves and the like (something like All Souls Day I guess). Unlike my time in Tsinghua where the school celebrates the holiday like any normal holiday, my classes here at XMU try to  make the most out of the holidays by giving classes beforehand, so I had classes during the weekend which resuletd in a 7-day straight schedule.

Right after my 8-930am class at XMU, I made my way to the nearest school gate and took a taxi straight to the ferry port (I usually take a bus, but it takes about 15-20minutes to get to the ferry port from my flat). Then I used my Gulangyu unlicard for the first time and took the ferry to Gulangyu before making my way to Church. I was already 20minutes late for mass, but it was still worth the effort. Our Church had baskets of palaspas (palms?) which they were handing out for free to the churchgoers (since we’re a pretty small community, with loads of Pinoys, fyi). I was able to take 3, 1 of which I handed to my friend. I even placed it on my door when I got home. It’s not as nice-looking as the palaspas we use back home, and this thing is painful (it has sharp leaves! i got pricked at least 5 times), but am trying to work with it nonetheless. Back home, my parents place our palaspas above our picture of the sacred heart of Jesus, so when I was talking to my mom, I asked hem to send me a picture/poster that I could hang on my door as well.

It really makes you appreciate the little things, doesn’t it?

I’m kind of looking forward to attending mass this Friday and Saturday, though the schedule at the Church mentioned that both masses will be completely in Mandarin. Scary and challenging! We’ll see if my schedule permits. The next few days are scary hectic, not to mention the HSK4 exam on the 14th~

Lent and Easter

Lent is finally over. My sacrifices for Lent were 1) not to watch Taiwanese dramas, and 2) not to drink any softdrinks. For my first sacrifice, I am proud to say that I did not watch any Taiwanese dramas for the entire Lenten Season. For the second sacrifice, I honestly admit to having drank Coke/Pepsi twice within the Lenten season, with those 2 instances being instances I could not avoid. During my usual trip to Mcdonalds though, I spent the entire Lent ordering iced tea with my meals instead of softdrinks, so that’s something to be proud of.

For the usual Holy Week with my family, we attended mass during Holy Thursday and we attended Easter Eve mass last Black Saturday. Last Friday, my mom and dad went to Ateneo to attend a recollection hosted by our Charismatic Community, which is also where we had our mass yesterday and last Thursday (not at the Gesu Church). Last Friday, me and my 3 other siblings accidentally missed out on the mass at our local church because we didn’t know that the Good Friday service began at 3 and we got to the Church at around 4pm, but we were able to do our own Way of the Cross (though not in 7 Churches as the tradition in our country goes). I was also able to have confession with one of the priests from our local church (who’s from abroad) and it felt nice to be able to go to confession again, since I haven’t had confession for about a year or so.

Awhile ago, as the usual tradition in our Charismatic community, our mass began with no light-ceremony, passing of the light from a large symbolic candle to ministers who then go around passing the light to others. A moment of sadness over remembering Jesus’ death, to joyful celebration over his rising, with noise and jubilation. I won’t go into the details, since there are too many too recall, but one thing many in my community look forward to is the dance at the end of the mass service. It’s usually done started by the men in our community, women can join in too, but I am just too lazy to. Arm in arm, everyone circles the place singing Alleluia and praised to God while dancing and lifting their feet in jubilation. It’s really a celebration of Jesus’ rising from the dead.

After our Easter Eve mass awhile ago, my entire family, together with my cousins’ family (sister of my mom) went out to Eastwood to have dinner together and we ended up at Teriyaki Boy for our dinner, then Dairy Queen for dessert. Truly a celebration!

Happy Easter everybody!

You may view my card here.

The Lenten Event

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the 40 days of Lent. For most, it’s another normal day; and for the seniors at my university, it is just another stressful day which gets them closer to graduation. For many though, Ash Wednesday is another reminder of many things. For me, it mostly consists of 2 things, a sign of the incoming summer vacation and a time of sacrifice. My parents raised all of me and my siblings to be very devout Catholics that attend mass every week, including holy days of obligation, and other special occassions like New Years, Christmas, that sort of thing. Ever since I was young, it was always a practice in my family to abstain from meat (even if abstinence begins at the age of 12 if I recall correctly). I would always remember Lenten Season as being a time of no meat on Fridays, and no TV for the entire Lenten Season. Sacrifice, my mom always mentioned, was an important thing to remember for the Lenten Season. And despite me being an independent college student, her words still do not escape me. Even if my mom does not constantly remind my siblings about the Lenten Season, it has in some way been embedded into us to sacrifice something for the season.

TV was a very hard thing to come by when I was younger since my mom restricted us from watching television on weekdays. It was harder to sacrifice TV then since we only got it for the weekends, which also meant goodbye PS1 and PS2-playing for the Lenten Season. If I remember, mom tried to persuade us to give up the computer for the Lenten Season, but that was an absolute no-no since  schoolwork demanded that we use computers. In more recent years though, I’ve tried giving up many things that I liked for the Lenten Season, softdrinks and iced tea being one of the things I love the most. I am not quite sure if I remember correctly but in the 2 years I’ve experienced Lent as a college student, I think I spent one Lent giving up iced tea and another softdrinks, for I cannot live without both. Coffee, unless it is Starbucks, does not work for me and instead makes me sleepy, which is why I rely heavily on softdrinks and Iced Tea. This year though, I’ve tried to commit myself to giving up again, softdrinks, and if possible watching Taiwanese dramas as well. Seeing as I’ve taken to watching Taiwanese dramas occassionally in the past couple of weeks, this could be a big thing (in my opinion) to sacrifice since I love watching Taiwanese dramas.

Also, this Lenten Season, I’ve finally decided to try fasting. My mom has tried to make me fast during Lent for the last couple of years since 16years old is the age which Christians are suppose to begin fasting, but I’ve always argued against my mother concerning that practice since I told her that a student needs to eat healthy and full meals if she expects anything to get in her noggin. But this year, I’m trying and yesterday was the first day of my trial which I had successfully done. My brunch consisted of only 2 bowls of Koko Krunch and my merienda (snack)- slash-dinner consisted of a rice meal of fish fillet and a drink of Iced Tea. Didn’t feel up to eating any dinner either.

So there. Some may see it as an excuse to diet but to others, it really is a sacrifice of something you want. Over  the years, as the Lenten Season comes and I ask my friends what they are sacrificing, many times I get the same question, why. It has always been difficult, being one of few people who really take Catholicism seriously. Since Elementary, I have been one of few in my class who really go to mass every Sunday without fail, do sacrifices and go to the Holy Thursday-Black Saturday Lenten mass, and those other Christian practices. But despite that, it’s a struggle to practice and to keep believing in what I do. And despite the fact that people ask me why I do what I do, I just try to tell them that practices are not things that God requires people to do. If you believe in it, you do it. If you don’t, then don’t do it. But the overall important thing is, do not question what  other people do. And I try to reiterate this to my friends all the time. I sacrifice for Lent and I try to encourage them to do so, but I do not any under circumstances force them to do so. They were raised differently than I, so who am I to question how they go about doing things. At the same time, I also tell them that they have no right to question what I do and how I practice my religion, and they have no right to tell me that what I’m doing is wrong or makes no sense.

Basically, mutual respect for religion and cultures.

Today is officially Day 2 and so far, no sign of softdrinks and Taiwanse Dramas, though I am very much tempted to do so. I must try to hold out as much as I can. 39 days to go. I can do this. 加油！