Holy Week in the Philippines for "Gloria" Saturday) refers to the return of the "Gloria in Excelsis Deo" during the Easter Vigil held on this day. The hymn is absent throughout Lent except on solemnities and Maundy Thursday. The ritual mourning for the “dead” Christ continues, albeit with less intensity. Traditional taboos from the previous day, such as merrymaking and the consumption of meat, are carried over and sometimes broken at noon. This includes swimming in a river or the sea, as superstition warns against bathing on Good Friday afternoon. Most commercial establishments operate on shorter hours, with smaller enterprises in many areas remaining closed
Holy Week during Great Lent—to be blessed by the priest which are then taken back home to be shared by family and friends with joy. On the afternoon of Easter Day, a joyful service called "Agape Vespers" is celebrated During this service the Great Prokeimenon is chanted and a lesson from the Gospel is read in as many different languages as possible, accompanied by the joyful ringing of bells. The Coptic Orthodox Christians fast the Lent for 55 days including the Holy Week which they call Holy Paschal Week. The Friday before Palm Sunday is called "The Concluding Friday of Great Lent".