The Halloween
celebration in the United States is observed every evening of
November 1. Through myth and legend, this national holiday can
be traced to the religious festivals of the druids – an order
of priests or teachers of ancient Celtic religion. The Celts
describes this carnival, a time when humans could enter the
other world and the supreme inhabitants of that world could come
into ours. They also believed that fiends, witches and evil
spirits roamed the earth on the eve of October 31. Bonfires were
lit to drive away the spirits of the dead. And to further
protect themselves from getting tricked by these bad spirits,
the druids offered them good food to eat. They also disguised
themselves so that the spirits would think they were members to
their evil company. The druids thought that the phantoms surely
wouldn’t harm their own comrades. And thus the U.S. celebrates
the Halloween by playing “trick or treats”, masquerading in
costumes and wearing masks.
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Dipolog Cemetery-Getting ready for the
All Souls Day-Dipolognon clean their graves
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Entrance to the Dipolog City Cemetery
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| Flower vendor line up the entrance of
Dipolog City Cemetery |
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In the Philippines, Halloween is
equivalent to the Roman Catholic Church’s belief recognizing
the first day of November to be a day to pay homage and honor to
all the saints – particularly those who do not have a special
day
of their own. Their special day is known as All Saints’, or
All Hallows’, Day. Saints are known as the hallowed, or holy,
ones. All Saints’ Day is an important feast of the Filipinos
and the Roman Catholic Church. Families gather and visit the
graves of their ancestors to pray, sing and eat the favorite
foods of their dead relatives (Our deceased are considered
saint). They mourn all night and conduct religious devotions on
such an eve.
Furthermore, there is another contributing factor that enables
Christians to extend the holiness of the celebration. This comes
a day after All Saints’ Day and that is All Souls’ Day.
All Souls’ Day is commemorated every November 2 and is also
observed by visits to the cemeteries. People bring flowers,
foods and pictures of the dead. In some places, there are
all-night vigils and requiem masses that are offered for the
souls of the faithful departed. Respect for the dead makes this
one of the Philippines most solemn days.
The difference between Halloween and All Saints’ Day is that
each is observed in its own special way. People look back and
remember their ancestors, the pumpkins of fall, how the events
moved them to wear outrageous costumes, or how joyous the
feastings were. Festivals like these give emphasis to the
importance of life as well as of death. (Look
for the title with your mouse and click on it)
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