An Easter Warning

With Easter finally arriving, despite the fact the stores have been pointing out since the start of the year, it's nice to see people in the shops actually realise this fact. Asda today was packed with people stocking up on Easter Eggs. But, ho ho, being that Friday and Monday are both Bank Holidays, people were buying stacks of bread, milk, groceries...

It was manic.

People, Asda is open as normal Friday, Saturday, Sunday trading hours on Sunday and Monday...

But this isn't about me ranting about shoppers for a change. This is about news people. You need to pay attention to this tale for your Easter Break.

MANILA (AFP) - Philippine health officials Wednesday warned people taking part in Easter crucifixions and self-flagellation rituals to get a tetanus shot first and sterilise the nails to avoid infections.

Every Good Friday in this predominately Roman Catholic Southeast Asian nation dozens of men re-enact the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by having themselves nailed to wooden crosses.

At the same time hundreds of others, mostly men, strip to the waist and whip themselves until their backs are cut and bloody as a way of atoning for their sins over the past year.

The Catholic church frowns upon the crucifixions and self flagellations which have become a tourist attraction in a number of towns around the country.

The department of health issued a health warning advising people taking part in the rituals this Friday to have tetanus shots and to check the condition of the whip they will use before lashing their backs.

It warned that dirty whips could lead to tetanus and other infections.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said that as was hard to discourage "flagellants from whipping their own flesh, the best penitents can do is ensure that their whips are well-maintained."

According to the Manila Times, in San Fernando City, Pampanga, some 23 people, including two women, plan to reenact the crucifixion on Friday.

"We are not trying to go against the Lenten tradition here because whipping has somewhat already become some form of 'atonement for sins' for some of us," Duque said.

"But this advice is important to make sure that no one will land in the hospital due to tetanus or other infections that penitents might get in the process," he said.

The health department has also warned that the six-inch (15-centimetre) nails used in crucifixions should be sterilised.
So there you have it. Please don't forget your little needles before you insert the big nails.

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2 Responses to “An Easter Warning”

debbie said...

Ouch, think I prefer the chocolate egg to all that pain

The Special Zipper said...

Firstly re: the shopping .. it must be a world wide thing that each time there is a public holiday .. people feel like it is 2000 and the Millenium Bug all over again.

As for the news story, that is just crazy talk. Surely no one would nail themselves. Then again, there was that guy that advertised on the Internet that he wanted someone to eat him .. and sure enough he met up with someone that did. This is a bizarre world at times.

I don't think we actually have to relive it ... that's the whole point of Easter .. it was done for us!