By: Sam Belo
Us Filipinos have unique ways of celebrating every holiday. All Soul’s Day is one of the most important occasions in the Filipino tradition. Instead of celebrating it with trick or treating and carving pumpkins, we light candles, we visit the cemetery with a handful of flowers, candles and say prayers to our loved ones who passed away.
Source: Panay News
All Soul’s Day is one of the most awaited occasions because it is one excuse to return home in the province and visit their families. Terminals are jam packed because of the anticipated travel season a week leading to November 1st. Most people in the Metro are usually from Provinces all over the Country and some companies even allow their employees to take a break to spend the Holiday with their families.
Days before the occasion, people start cleaning the graveyard of their loved ones, the property is swept, paints are fresh and grass is trimmed in preparation for the family picnic. Family members who are in the hometowns are usually the ones who take responsibility in maintaining the graveyard descent and the ones to prepare food for everybody. A famous delicacy especially during the occasion are products of glutinous rice like suman, biko, puto, etc. and there's no clear explanation why it is preferred by Filipinos.
Source: yummy.ph
In tradition, the occasion is associated not only with souls but also with lost souls or ghosts and other mythological monsters like the manananggal, tikbalang, kapre and others. This gave Filipinos ideas of what costumes to wear during Halloween parties. Also, when is a better time to watch scary shows or movies than during All Soul’s Day? For obvious reasons, television networks feature horror shows because we love watching them usually with our relatives to get in the mood for Halloween.
Flowers and candles is a good business venture for at least 1 week leading to November 1st. In our belief this is the best present you can give to the dead as a way to tell them they are remembered. We even light candles not only on graveyards but also on our doorsteps at home. Candles play an important role in Catholic Church because it is a way of extending our prayers and honor our fallen loved one. Some people even pay the church for the priest to offer a special prayer for their loved one in masses held in the cemetery.
Source: mnlop.com.ph
The day comes and people arrive in the cemetery, police and security personnel are on watch to make sure the day goes peaceful and orderly. Graveyards turn into picnic grounds, we begin to pitch our tents and setup mini tables and chairs along the yard for the meal because we should never forget to bring food to our deceased loved one, especially their favorites, a plate full of them. Food stalls are everywhere since we love to roam around the cemetery to visit every deceased person we know.
To wrap it up, some cemeteries put up a firework show during midnight which attracts more people to visit. While it adds entertainment to a silent night, the government now prohibits the act to prevent mass gatherings.
Though, some people say that this is not the occasion for enjoyment and cheers but maybe it is our way to celebrate the life we had with our fallen relative and to enjoy the presence of our family that are still around.
Filipinos never miss to observe All Souls Day yearly for their loved ones who passed away. Most of us still visit the cemetery amidst this pandemic because we have this notion that if we are not able to visit them, they will be the ones to visit us in our homes. Boo!
On the other note, the memorial lots that hold our loved ones is a real estate investment. Securing a lot for everyone in the family lessens the burden that gives them time to grieve and allow them to focus on honoring the life of their deceased loved ones.
