In less than a month, cemeteries in the Philippines will be filled with visitors. That is, Todo Los Santos or All Saints Day will be celebrated every first day of November. It is a long holiday that most Filipinos look forward to.
From Wikipedia, “The Spanish influence on Filipino culture has been profound… A variety of aspects of the customs and traditions in the Philippines today can be traced back to this influence.” They stayed for 333 years, that their influence on the Filipino language, the religion most especially, the customs and traditions have been deeply embedded.
While Western countries celebrate their Halloween on the streets doing trick-or-treating for kids and young at heart, most Filipinos will be heading to the cemeteries on October thirty first to clean graveyards and stones in preparation for All Saints Day. With the help of the government, big public cemeteries in cities have the police and traffic enforcers deployed for peace and order, ambulances and first aid teams with their tents for those needing quick medical assistance. Heatstroke, high blood pressure, and some minor injuries happen especially when a big crowd is involved. Organized chaos, they call it, as families pack food and have a quick picnic while at the same time cleaning, their beloved’s graveyard. This is the Halloween that the Philippines used to have.
For cemeteries that are open 24/7, most visitors camp and stay overnight until the “big day” that is, Todos Los Santos. The kids will tag along with their parents (and grandparents) to the cemeteries and there experience their share of boos and scares, while the adults pray novenas and rosaries, and reminisce about those who have gone before them. From The Philippine Star, “More than four million Filipinos are expected to visit their departed loved ones in cemeteries and columbariums in Metro Manila to observe All Saints’ Day on November 1.
Nowadays, big subdivisions and popular malls open their doors to trick-or-treaters on Halloween night, the last day of October. The youngsters dress up and receive candies. Much has changed in the cities, but tradition has remained solid in the province.
The All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2) holidays are also the days when commuters flock out of the city. From the same Philippines Star news article mentioned above, “The NCRPO will also secure 296 bus terminals, 11 stations of the Philippine National Railways (PNR), 13 stations of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), 19 stations of the Light Railway Transit Line 1 (LRT-1), 16 stations of the LRT-2 and four airport terminals.” That is Metro Manila alone. The hustling city workers make it sure to go home outside the bustle of the city and spend a quick and short time with families. This is part of the tradition – to go home, to reunite with the living while remembering the dead.
This has changed as well for the younger generation of families. This long holiday calls for a getaway, a vacation to a popular beach resort, or a trip outside the country.
How about you? Where will you be for this long November long weekend?
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