THE Christian observance of Holy Week (April 5-12) has been muted this year because of COVID-19. In the Philippines, such traditional activities as Visita Iglesia among Catholics and Easter Sunrise Services among Evangelical Christians were not held in deference to the government order for an enhanced community quarantine, or lockdown, which banned all mass gatherings to help stop the spread of the virus.
The Muslim observance of the holy month of Ramadan has similarly been affected this year. Ramadan 2020 began on the evening of Thursday, April 23, with the sighting of the new crescent moon. The ninth month of the Islamic calendar, it honors the time Allah, via the angel Gabriel, revealed the first verse of the Qur’an to Muhammad.
During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from food and water in daylight hours, with sumptuous meals and gatherings at dusk. This year, because of the coronavirus pandemic, mosques have been closed to evening prayers, and the feasting at the end of a day has been confined to family homes. Large public banquets have been outlawed in much of the Islamic world where lockdowns and curfews are rigidly enforced.
In the Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa – in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates – mosques have been largely closed as religious authorities and government officials banned congregational activities.
Early this month, Egypt’s Grand Mufti, Shawki Allam, said: “We must look to the positive aspects during these exceptional times that have compelled many people to be quarantined in their homes and turn this into an opportunity for bonding and forgiveness and restoring the spirit of serenity and cooperation.”
Ramadan will end with Eid-Fitr, festival of the Breaking of the Fast, traditionally marked by much feasting and celebration. With the continuing spread of COVID-19 around the world, there may be no such feasting and celebration this year.
Aside from these religious observances, many other traditional activities around the world have already been cancelled. The Tokyo Olympics originally scheduled for March this year has been postponed to July-August next year. The Berlin Marathon, planned for September, has been cancelled, along with Bavaria’s Oktoberfest. Spain has scrapped its annual bull-running festival in Pamplona. In the US, there are fears that the nation’s schools may not be able to open as scheduled in September.
What else are in danger of being cancelled this year because of COVID-19? It would be the greatest of tragedies for the Christian world if the pandemic remains unchecked in these coming months, so that the most beloved of all Christian holidays – Christmas – will also, like all the other religious celebrations that have already affected this year, have to be celebrated in the confines of our homes.
