Holy Week in the Philippines (Filipino: Mahal na Araw; Spanish: Semana Santa) is a significant religious observance for the country’s Catholic majority, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente or the Philippine Independent Church and most Protestant groups. One of the few majority Christian countries in Asia, Catholics make up 80 percent of the population, and the Church is one of the country’s dominant sociopolitical forces. It begins on Palm Sunday and continues on