HAPPY ISHTAR
ILOILO CITY — Saturday night, preparatory to the Resurrection, Pinoys perform rituals consisting of removal of signs of sorrow inside churches — of purple cloths draping statues including the Crucified One. There is no mass yet as this celebration is reserved for the following day after the official time of the Resurrection comes. For the time being, the minister blesses essentials used at home like water, salt and oil and seeds that worshippers bring —rice, corn, beans, fruit trees and what-not. All vehicles lined up on the street are blessed, streets to be more precise as the volume of vehicles rose every hour — either public or private carriers. (In this regard, to cut short the time spent on blessing the vehicles with engines on, the officiating priests asks his lay ministers to assist in spreading the blessings, Easter, our tradition tells us, ushers-in not only the Resurrected One but the whole new life itself — the seeds for abundant harvests and the vehicles for prosperou