I think I finally understand why my father treats Good Friday like a sacred day of rest.
It’s not just the Church telling him to. It’s deeper than that.
It’s a childhood memory, a tradition passed down quietly from my dear Lola Mary… the kind of thing learn from watching someone you love do it year after year, until it becomes part of who you are too.
For those who don’t know… Good Friday is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. It falls during Holy Week, as part of the Paschal Triduum, on the Friday before Easter Sunday.
In the Philippines, Holy Week or Semana Santa is a significant religious observance for the country’s Catholic majority.
As of 2023, Catholics make up 78.8 percent of the population, and the Catholic Church remains one of the country’s dominant sociopolitical forces.
So yeah, Good Friday here is a BIG deal.
So… What Is a Carroza?
A carroza… think of it as a float.
But this one carries saints. Beautifully carved, dressed in velvet and silk, mounted on a wheeled platform that gets pulled through the streets on Good Friday night while people hold candles and pray.
Life-sized ones.
I remember that my brothers and I were always creeped out whenever we had to pass the hall where the life sized saint was displayed. It seemed to follow our movements with his eyes.
Creepier when you had to go pee at night abnd the comfort room was at the end of the hallway…
The carroza is richly decorated with brass or wood motifs, flowers, and lights, and mounted with life-sized antique dioramas, or religious heirlooms.
The images visually display Christian stories and teachings, and represent a “moving catechism” for spectators.
The carroza, formerly called “andas,” is part of our legacy of Christianity from the Spanish era in the Philippines. It unfolds the historical, cultural, and religious significance of faith especially during the celebration of Semana Santa.
It was around the middle of the 19th century that “andas” were converted into “carrozas,” by mounting them on wheels.
Before that, they were just carried on shoulders.
Imagine.
Kilometers.
On people’s shoulders.
Anyway… here are the parts that make up a carroza
| Part | What It Is |
| Sayal | The skirt that hides the wheels |
| Sobresayal | A lace overskirt placed over the sayal |
| Sinepa | The borderline between the sayal and the carroza body |
| Pescante | Light branches around the carroza, usually with glass globes for candles |
| Albortante | A candelabra-style branch of lights |
There’s also a special type called the Calandra, a funeral carroza used exclusively by the Santo Entierro (Christ lying in state) on Good Friday processions. It is patterned after the horse-drawn funeral coaches of Europe.
Who Owns These Things?
Families do.
And that’s what makes this tradition so deeply personal.
During the Spanish period, prominent families were the ones who would help in organizing these processions, from the commissioning of images, the decorations for the carroza, to the feeding of the carroza pullers after the procession.
It was from this situation that the landed gentry and affluent families would allot a portion of their land or businesses dedicated and named after a Holy Week Santo, whose income would be used for the expenses needed for the image’s annual procession.
Our family owns a carroza.
It’s connected to Simala…
Yeah, the same place that sits at the foot of the mountain where the Monastery of the Holy Eucharist, also known as the Our Lady of Lindogon Shrine, commonly known as the Simala Shrine, a Roman Catholic pilgrimage church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Sibonga, Cebu, Philippines is.
Wait… I need to take a breath after that.
And our carroza… it used to be a highlight in the town’s processions. People would line the streets to see it pass.
It was something.
Really something.
But now?
It’s retired.
It sits in the garage.
A huge, hulking beast that’s seen better days… the paint is faded, the woodwork dusty, the wheels probably haven’t moved in years.
It doesn’t go anywhere anymore.
But somehow it still feels important just being there, you know?
Like it holds the memory of every Good Friday it ever rolled through.
In some families, the carroza itself gets a check-up months before Holy Week.
Rusty edges are repainted, flat tires replaced, and the clothes for the images are created and ordered months before the ceremony.
Ours used to go through all of that.
Now it just… rests.
Like my Lola Mary.
Why Does Good Friday Matter?
My father doesn’t believe in holidays save for Good Friday.
That’s the only one.
The rest of the days of the year, he works.
And I think now I understand where that came from.
From watching his mother, my Lola Mary, take it seriously.
From growing up around traditions.
And maybe because he was also a seminarian?
The Good Friday procession is a seeming mixture of faith and culture.
The spectacle and grandeur of this tradition, which perhaps attracted the early Christian inhabitants to the faith, continues to this day as a pious devotion to God and as a tradition which links families together.
It links families together.
There it is.
Pros and Cons of Owning a Carroza
Pros
- It’s a living piece of family history
- It keeps faith and tradition alive for the next generation
- It’s genuinely stunning to see, especially at night with all the candles
- It connects your family to the wider community in a real way
- It’s something to be proud of
Cons
- Maintenance is expensive… wood warps, paint fades, wheels break
- It takes months of preparation every year
- Storage is a challenge (ours takes up basically the whole garage)
- Once it stops being used, it’s hard to know what to do with it
- The tradition can fade if the next generation doesn’t pick it up
If you have the chance to witness a Good Friday procession, go.
Bring your kids.
Don’t be on your phone the whole time.
Just watch.
The carriages, the candles, the people, the silence between the prayers.
It’s one of those things you feel more than you see.
And if your family has a carroza, even a retired one sitting in a garage somewhere… don’t let the story die with it.
Write it down.
Tell your kids.
Tell anyone who’ll listen.
Hey…
I’ve got these affiliate links. It won’t cost you extra to buy through them, and I get a small commission which helps me keep this site going.
Religious Saints / Devotional Images / Figurines
Candles for Processions & Home Altars
Holy Week Books & Prayer Guides
Thank you! Every little bit helps keep this going.
