A unique Holy Week tradition continued in Balasan, Iloilo as one of the carriages in the Good Friday procession was decorated with dried fish and various root crops instead of the usual flowers.
According to YouScooper Marky Villagracia of the IFI Parish of Saint Anne in Balasan, the carriage featured dried fish, squash, jicama, sweet potatoes, and cassava—symbolizing Jesus Christ’s act of feeding the hungry with fish, as well as His deep-rooted love for humanity.
This creative approach to Holy Week decorations has been a tradition of their parish since 2023. Villagracia shared that they wanted to show that flowers aren’t the only option for decorating carriages during processions and that each design can carry a meaningful theme representing the life of Jesus.
The preparation took two days, he added, as they carefully assembled the materials to bring the symbolic carriage to life.
