Komedya. Aside from being a highlight in the celebrations on the Feast of St. Dionisus, Araw ng Palanyag is also commemorated with stage plays called Komedyas or Moro-Moros where local actors and actresses called Komedyantes and Prinsesas take center stage and do choreographed swordfights and render long poetic verses. The stage plays change plots yearly and depicts 16th-17th century romance, religious conflicts, war, and peace. The Komedya was born in the classic community of San Dionisio. They gained national attention and acclaim when the Komedya garnered the top award in the Board of Travel (now Philippine Tourism Authority) - sponsored first Santacruzan Festival in 1958.
March - April
Semana Santa or Holy Week. Most Paraqueños are keen observers of the lenten season which falls between the months of March and April, just like the rest of most of the Christian world. However, the Parañaque folk, being a religious lot, observe such Lenten activities as Linggo ng Palaspas (Palm Sunday), Pasyon, Sinakulo which is a local version of the Via Crucis, and Salubong or Easter Vigil, with a fervent solemnity that may rarely be witnessed in other Catholic communities.
Linggo ng Palaspas or Domingo de Ramos starts off the Holy Week with the usual metaphorical rendition of Christ's entry into Jerusalem, with the congregation bringing their palm fronds to church so that they may be blessed; they would afterwards bring home the fronds and display them in their altars believing that these will aid in the plea for the forgiveness of sins and that they will bring blessings from above, keep illness away, and ward off evil. But ultimately, the fronds' main purpose is to serve as reminders of Christ’s passion and salvation.
Pasyon or Pabasa. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the Holy Week is the time when the Pasyon or Pabasa, which is the chanting of the Savior’s life, passion, and death (as well as his Resurrection), is held. It is done in chapels and in residences by groups of community elders, usually 24 hours straight, with a peculiar melody which has been very much attached to the ceremony. Although the actual chanting is done by certain individuals shifting from time to time, such activities revolving around the Pasyon as refreshments, shift-scheduling, financing, and the like are accomplished with the complete cooperation of parishioners
