While the United States celebrates National Bible Week the week of Thanksgiving, the Philippines celebrates National Bible Day on the last Monday of January. The day is dedicated to studying the Christian Bible and inculcating the practice of turning to its empowering words of hope in difficult times.
The Philippines first declared a National Bible Day in 1982, at which point the Day was held on the first Sunday of Advent, while the National Bible Week was in the last week of November.
Both celebrations were changed to January in 1986, but National Bible Day was not officially made a legal holiday until 2017, when then President Rodrigo Duterte set it to occur on the final Monday of January.
This date seems providential, considering that in 2019, Pope Francis established that the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time would be Word of God Sunday. The Third Sunday of Ordinary Time follows the Sunday celebrations of the Epiphany, the Baptism of the Lord, and the 2nd Sunday, putting it at the end of January, beside the Filipino holiday.
National support
Today, observance of the Bible is a tradition that has been enshrined in the Philippines’ Constitution and receives strong national support. The Bible is seen as a symbol of peace and spirituality by the people of the Philippines and the Constitution reads:
“It is the policy of the state that the government shall aid and encourage the development of the moral character and spiritual foundation of the Filipino people.”
On the annual celebration, Christians of the Philippines are encouraged to attend a church service and to treat this Monday as though it was another Sunday. It is also suggested that Christians come together in groups of two or more in order to read the Bible together and discuss the section that was read.
In honor of National Bible Day, National Today – a website that keeps track of Filipino holidays – has shared five fun facts about the Bible as well:
The Bible is the best selling book in the world, with over 100 million copies sold annually;
The oldest Bible in the Vatican dates to the 4th century;
The Bible is the most frequently stolen book in the world;
It is over 600,000 words, with some versions approaching 800,000;
And the shortest verse in the bible is simply: “Jesus wept.” from John 11:35.
Learn more fun facts about the Bible and get into the spirit of National Bible Day, here.
And today we celebrate...