remembering...

Filipinos have different ways of remembering our dearly departed ones... The important thing is that we remember them, even just once a year.

Remembering the dead are such a huge deal that it is declared a holiday! (yey! although, this year november 2 is not a holiday only november 1, darn!)

Apart from trick or treat, which is mostly for the kids in the family and happens during Halloween, in my family we usually visit the cemetery on the 2nd day of november, coz thats the real all soul's day, right? november 1 is all SAINTS day. plus, we do this to avoid the traffic and the uber crowded cemeteries. the cemeteries get somewhat "disoriented" and loses its "sacred" feel during when people swamp the cemeteries during november 1. on my father's side, our loved ones are buried in Paraiso Cemetery in Rizal. on my mother's side, our loved ones are all buried in the cemetery in Samar, very far...a fourty-five minute travel by plane OR an eighteen hours travel by bus.

since we cannot go to the province, what we do is we offer masses and prayers. plus we usually offer food in the altar and light a candle. HOWEVER today, almost everyone in my family is sick--due to the weather--(i for one was not fared and is still recuperating from almost flu, cough and colds) and there was no time to prepare. hence we just collected what we can get from the fridge.

we were able to get some pancit bihon (term derived from the Hokkien pian i sit or 便ê食 which means "something conveniently cooked fast), biko (sweet rice delicacy sometimes referred to as rice cake), suman (a native rice cake wrapped in banana or palm leaves), pan de sal, pumpkin in coconut milk soup, rice, red wine, some peanuts and water (not in the photo). sometimes we add a cigarette pack or a bottle of beer (for those souls who have vices..hehehe).

my folks used to say that the souls of our departed relatives during "all souls day" come and visit and these foods are for them to sort of smell (since they cannot eat them) hehehe it has been a tradition in my family.

how about you, what's your family tradition during these times?


prettytwistedchick