When I got my 2022 planner from Chester, I did not really pay much attention to the boxes at the bottom left. When you are retired like me, every day is a holiday!It was only when Jhoanna asked if she could do my shopping on Thursday instead of Friday as "she was going away" and Joven asked if he could leave work early on Friday I started to wonder why. Then I needed to contact Chester urgently on Friday to go to Makati for me when PRA realised they had made a mistake when they said my pension was insufficient for my SSRV. He told me he had already left Marikina for the "Long weekend". So, then I looked more closely at the boxes at the bottom of my planner.
I was still confused as this all happened on 28 October and there were no holidays showing for October. Where was everyone going and why? Then I saw November - 1st is "All Saints" day and "All Souls" day is on 2nd. This year 29 October is a Saturday, 30 October is a Sunday, 31 October is a Monday, but I read somewhere was called a "a special non-working holiday" in the Philippines, and 1 and 2 November are public holidays. Chester explained this meant PRA and other Government offices would close on 28 October and not reopen until 3 November. A 5-day holiday. Unfortunately, he got that wrong as they emailed me on Monday 31 October!
With Jhoanna away I went to do some shopping at NCC when I was taking my broken kettle back to Josool and chasing up where my broken executive chair (also from Josool) had got to. On the way out the Paper seller sold me a copy of The Philippine Star. As I do not have a TV and only listen to the radio in the car which is very rare these days (I put fuel in the car twice in October) I do enjoy reading a newspaper occasionally. First, I read with sadness that by Saturday 42 people were killed by the latest Tropical storm to hit the Philippines (Paeng). Then I read with interest a piece saying how Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani Jr. urged the Catholic faithful not to forget the essence of All Saints' and All Souls' days.
He said "these days are for prayers and not for partying"
Source: The Philippine Star. 29 October 2022, page 1 (accessed 29.10.22)
Not being religious myself and born a follower of the Church of England (interestingly one of my brothers later became a Catholic) I was unaware of these special days to Catholics until I was on vacation in the Philippines on November 2, All Soul's Day, many years ago. I hope Mr G will excuse me if I quote from Wikipedia, before I return to storytelling!
" All Saints' Day, also known as All Hallows' Day,[3] the Feast of All Saints,[4][5] the Feast of All Hallows,[6] the Solemnity of All Saints,[6] and Hallowmas,[6][7] is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown.[7][8][9]
From the 4th century, feasts commemorating all Christian martyrs were held in various places,[3] on various dates near Easter and Pentecost. In the 9th century, some churches in the British Isles began holding the commemoration of all saints on 1 November, and in the 9th century this was extended to the whole Catholic church by Pope Gregory IV.[10] "
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day (accessed 30.10.22)
In the Western Christian practice, the liturgical celebration begins at Vespers on the evening of 31 October, All Hallows' Eve (All Saints' Eve), and ends at the close of 1 November. It is thus the day before All Souls' Day, which commemorates the faithful departed. In many traditions, All Saints' Day is part of the season of Allhallowtide, which includes the three days from 31 October to 2 November inclusive, and in some denominations, such as Anglicanism, extends to Remembrance Sunday.[14][15][3] In places where All Saints' Day is observed as a public holiday but All Souls' Day is not, cemetery and grave rituals such as offerings of flowers, candles and prayers or blessings for the graves of loved ones often take place on All Saints Day.[16][17][18][19] In Austria and Germany, godparents gift their godchildren Allerheiligenstriezel (All Saint's Braid) on All Saint's Day,[20] while the practice of souling remains popular in Portugal.[21] It is a national holiday in many Christian countries.
The Christian celebration of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day stems from a belief that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (the "Church triumphant"), and the living (the "Church militant"). In Catholic theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven. In Methodist theology, All Saints Day revolves around "giving God solemn thanks for the lives and deaths of his saints", including those who are "famous or obscure".[22] As such, individuals throughout the Church Universal are honoured, such as Paul the Apostle, Augustine of Hippo and John Wesley, in addition to individuals who have personally led one to faith in Jesus, such as one's grandmother or friend.[22]
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day (accessed 30.10.22)
Cadlao, a few kilometers walk from El Nido town
So, what did I observe all those years ago on 2 November. At first, I thought some great calamity
had occurred as I was walking to Cadlao beach hotel, near El Nido town and the path goes
past several Cemetaries. In the Philippines the Cemetries are very grand with roofs over
the ornate graves and tomb stones. I guess with rain for 6 months they don't want their loved
ones to get wet. All the graves had fresh flowers and there were families praying at many of the
tombs. For those who have not been to the Philippines the families are large and as All Soul's Day
is a holiday the whole family goes to visit their loved ones who have departed. To a Foreigner
it looked like multiple funerals taking place. After lunch when I walked back, I looked back at the
graves and realised the "funerals" had taken place at graves where people died many years ago.
Back to Wiki for the low down on the significance of All Soul's Day:
"All Souls' Day, also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed and the Day of the Dead, is a day of prayer and remembrance for the faithful departed, which is observed by Roman Catholics and other Christian denominations annually on 2 November. All Souls' Day is often celebrated in Western Christianity; Saturday of Souls is a related tradition more frequently observed in Eastern Christianity. Adherents of All Souls' Day traditions often remember deceased friends and relatives in various ways on the day. Through prayer, intercessions, alms and visits to cemeteries, people commemorate the poor souls in purgatory and gain them indulgences. Beliefs and practices associated with All Souls' Day vary widely among Christian denominations."
Wiki then goes into more detail on the significance of the day in the Philippines and says:
Allhowtide in the Philippines is variously called "Undás" (from the Spanish Honras, meaning honours, as in "with honours"), "Todos los Santos" (Spanish, "All Saints"), and sometimes "Araw ng mga Patay / Yumao" (Tagalog, "Day of the Dead / Passed Away"), which incorporates All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Filipinos traditionally observe this day by visiting their family's graves to clean and repair the tombs. Prayers for the dead are recited, while offerings are made, the most common being flowers, candles, food,[54] and for Chinese Filipinos, incense and kim. Many also spend the day and ensuing night holding reunions at the graves with feasting and merriment.[citation needed]
For those who are interested this piece has more information on the origins of " trick or treat"
and the practice of visiting the cemeteries to visit their loved ones.
This year is especially important as due to Cov 19 restrictions few people could travel
home this time last year to visit their loved ones and Foreigners like me were unable to
visit their loved ones here- so much has been in the news of the Land Transport Authority
checking the buses and vans are roadworthy from the trip. Sadly, as I write, yet another text
came through from NDRRMC advising of more heavy rain in Palawan which will cause landslides
and make many roads impassable in the provinces, making it hard for many to get home to
visit their loved ones. It is easy to forget, as a Foreigner, that for many people to get home it involves
a long journey using a van, bus, boat, trike and often a long walk- not easy in the poring
rain!
Two visitors' light candles at the tomb of their departed loved ones at the Manila South Cemetery in Makati City on Monday, October 31, 2022, ahead of All Saints' Day (Undas) and All Souls' Day. All visitors to the cemetery are asked to show their vaccination cards prior to entry. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier declared Oct. 31 as a special non-working holiday to give the public more time to honor their departed loved ones. DANNY PATA© Danny Pata
The authorities urged people to go early to the cemeteries on Wednesday and I read
online on Monday that:
" People started going to cemeteries as early as Monday morning to avoid the expected huge crowds visiting their deceased loved ones on All Saints’ Day on November 1."
The same piece estimated that 1.4 million people would visit their loved one's cemeteries in Manila during Undas 2022.
Here in Puerto special car parks have been set up and one-way systems put in place and maps put online to avoid Traffic Cahos.
Special thanks to Luis for providing the map and the link to the "Remembering our loved ones" piece
Yesterday, when I went to get Chester's food, all the florists had added tents by the road
to sell flowers and baskets for people to take to their loved one's graves. I even saw a stall
selling candles at the roadside. The drawings below show what a big event Undas is for Pinoys:
I wish we had something like All Soul's Day in the UK. I never visited either my fathers'
or mothers' graves since they died around the year 2000. So, I will share a couple of old photos of them
and say a prayer. My mum would have been 105 years old on November 11th.
A photo of a photo of my mum and dad many years ago
My dad and my first Labrador, Trixie. He would have been 104 next April.
It is a British Tradition on Christmas day as we celebrate all that Christmas means to
us as Christians that we raise a glass in toast to "absent friends." Sadly, each year, as
I grow older (63 next year) that list gets longer. A few years back I learnt through mutual
friends of the early death of my houseboy and very close friend Jay (Hermie or Borj Sitos)
and prior to that his brother was killed in a car crash just after graduating.
Jay and I one Christmas, many years ago, in Bahrain
Back in my college days I met a gregarious man (and his lovely family) David Green,
when I was running a bar at what was then Huddersfield Polytechnic, and we became
good friends. I would visit them whenever I was in the area and sadly, I learnt earlier this
year that he passed away so this will be their first Christmas without him.
Lynda and David Green, as I will always remember him, roaring with laughter!
Another David, David Graham, who I met when he was working in a restaurant in Ramsey
and I was a regular customer (Suki) died soon after I moved to Bahrain in 2010. We had
many drunken nights out in Birmingham when we both lived there from 1996 to 2004.
At the end of this year, we will read about the many "famous" people that passed away, and
daily in the Philippine press and social media we read of deaths from floods, tropical storms
and Typhoons, and even of people celebrating in South Korea and the millions of people around the
world that lost their lives to COV 19. It is a sad old world. Spookily as I was writing this
MSN released a list of "Celebrities that died in October" including Robbie Coltrane and
Angela Lansbury (I had not heard of the rest!)
I hope you have found this blog of interest and, as usual, I am always grateful for your
feedback.
For those who travelled home to see loved ones, Ingat and Kita kits.
Hello, I am The British Kabayan! Feel free to read my stories.
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