Celebrate Good Friday By Watching Filipino Easter Crucifixion Ritual
GRAPHIC CONTENT: Nothing says let's worship like whips, nails and lots of blood.
Lots of people like to celebrate Easter in different ways. Some simply get Easter baskets and go looking for colorful eggs in the yard, others go to church to give thanks and then there are these Filipino Christians who seek forgiveness for their sins by getting bloody.
In the Philippines, there are over 80 million Catholics celebrating Easter, almost 80% of the country's population. From whipping their backs, nailing themselves to crosses, getting beat by bamboo sticks and other forms of flagellation, some religious zealots believe that this tradition will cleanse them of their sins, cure illness and even grant wishes. Due to this thinking, they volunteer to participate in this activity.
In this video filmed in 2016 by Southern Psychonauts, Filipino Christians gather to reenact the crucification of Jesus Christ. This tradition happens on Good Friday and not only do people participate, there are hundreds of people that watch. The volunteers are masked and whip themselves, causing bloody gashes all over their backs as well as enduring others hitting them with chains and bamboo sticks.
Men also dress as Roman soldiers and persecute the devotees, even nailing them to crosses. Thankfully, they only spend a few minutes on the crosses before they are taken down and given medical treatment. You can check out the video above and read more about this at the Daily Mail.