PHL Embassy in Thailand closed April 5-9, 13, 16

The Philippine Embassy in Thailand will be closed from April 5 to 9 to observe Holy Week and Araw ng Kagitingan, and on April 13 and 16 to observe the Thai Songkran festival.   In an announcement posted on its website, the embassy said its consular section will be open on April 21, Saturday.   "In case of emergency, the Embassy can be reached at +668-9926-5954," said Consul General Edgar Badajos.   Badajos said the dates the embassy will be closed include:

• April 5 and 6: Maundy Thursday and Good Friday
• April 9: Araw ng Kagitingan, and
• April 13 and 16 April: the Thai Songkran Festival.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Holy Week is the week that precedes the greatest Catholic feast: Easter Sunday, which will be celebrated this year on April 8.   Holy Week commemorates the last week of the mortal life of Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity. Meanwhile, the Bangkok.com website said Songkran is the occasion for family reunions, temple visits and annual house cleaning.   "Many Thais observe the holidays by spending time with families and friends. Traditionally, Thais perform the Rod Nam Dum Hua ritual on the first day of Songkran, which is officially the National Elderly Day. During the ritual, young people would pour fragrant water into the elders’ palms as a gesture of humility and to ask for their blessings," it said.   The second day of Songkran is officially the National Family Day.   On this day, families would wake up early and give alms to the monks, then ideally the rest of the day would be spent sharing quality family time together.   An important religious ritual on Songkran is "Bathing the Buddha image," where devout Buddhists pour fragrant water over Buddha statues both at the temple and at home. - VVP, GMA News