I have been wanting to post an article here but only got the courage (or inspiration) today. This would be my first time to do this and I will try my best to write something here regularly and I hope that you will always enjoy reading my simple thoughts.

ALL SAINTS' DAY

Today and yesterday, many of our fellow Boholanos went to the cemetery, all over Bohol, to visit the graves of their friends, relatives and loved ones who already passed away. This is a yearly tradition practiced by the Boholanos and the Filipinos as a whole.

In Bohol, people would go to the cemetery a day or two before November 1st to clean the cemetery surroundings and the vicinity of their loved ones' graves. This is the time when the niches get their yearly cleaning. Fresh flower arrangements and lighted candles will be offered. Some family members would even spend the whole day and sometimes stay very late at night at the cemetery itself. Staying at the cemetery longer on this day would also allow relatives and friends who have not seen each other for long to have a reunion among themselves.

I REMEMBER

When I was much younger, I remember that every October 31st, my parents would bring us all 10 children to Ubay to spent the night there. In the morning of November 1st, we would then visit the burial place of my mother's father and mother (who died much later than my grandfather) in the cemetery of San Pascual, Ubay, Bohol. My mother would ask her relative who is a priest to "bless" the niches and our relatives would say the novena. For me, it was an endless thing for I wanted the novena to finish so soon so I can go around the cemetery and gather melted candles and form them into wax balls. Or sometimes, I would go with my brothers to catch grasshoppers instead.

I also remember that after the cemetery visit, my mother would then make a fire (just enough to produce a soot of smoke) on the cemetery gate and all of us would jump over the fire. My Mom said that this would drive away the spirits from coming with us to our homes.

After the cemetery visit, we would all go to my grandparents' (mother side) house and have lunch with my uncles, aunts and other cousins. It was always fun sharing lunch with them. One time, my aunt accidentally poured a hot "tinola" soup over me and I almost burned my right shoulder bad. I think my Lolo's spirit was watching over me and I never got any scald from that "hot bath".

In the afternoon, we would then drive from Ubay to Buenavista (on our way home to Tagbilaran City) to visit the graves of my great grandparents (father's side). Although sometimes, we don't drop by Buenavista anymore and had to drive home back to Tagbilaran just before dusk. During those days, the roads in Bohol (unlike today) were still bad and it would really take us some hours on the road. Most of us kids will just sleep in the car and will only be awakened when the driver would suddenly drive slower. Then we will all look out and find candles, tree trunks or even flowers laid in the middle of the road! During every trip home, we would encounter more than 10 incidents of those kinds. We find it really scary! I do not know if those were just things done by some pranksters or those were done by some spirits. Our driver, maybe used to those, will just avoid them anyway.

We had to be home in Tagbilaran by November 1st in the evening so we can then join the birthday "mañanita" for my Lolo Cocoy (father side, who passed away in 1992) at dawn of November 2nd and we would celebrate his birthday all day long.

Now that we got our own kids, my parents don't force us anymore to go with them to the towns to visit our grandparents graves. If only we still do this, my kids would have also experienced what I always experience every year during this time.

WHAT ABOUT NOW ?

Now that I have a family of my own, October 31st and November 1st are mostly spent only in my house. We don't join any Halloween parties for it is against our religious beliefs. But just like before I always look forward to November the 2nd when we always have a grand party to celebrate my Lolo Cocoy's birthday. When he was still alive, we would have breakfast, lunch and dinner at his house. All our clan members would be there and it was always a grand days with the whole family, friends and other relatives.

In the afternoon of November 2nd, we will all go to the Masonic Lodge Cemetery in Dao and have a memorial service there for my Lolo. Each year, the number of people is increasing because most of us cousins have gone married and more kids are added to the clan (although some of our cousins have already gone abroad to work). My Lolo Cocoy passed away in April, 1992 and since then his November 2nd birthday celebration was never the same although we still hold a birthday for him with a different but still with a family oriented fun. Since then and until now, my uncles and aunts families and us married cousins will be assigned to bring foods to the "Bay Daku" (the ancestral house in Cainget) and we will all have fun eating and still celebrating my Lolo Cocoy's birthday. All of us will bring flowers and foods to the cemetery. As part of the memorial service, we sing the favorite hymns of my Lolo and have trivia games about my Lolo's life. And just the same, we will still listen to my father's stories about my Lolo's life. I never got tired hearing the same story each time we have this gathering for my Lolo indeed had a very colorful life worth to be written in a book. And telling my Lolo's life all over again to all of us will also make our younger clan members (specially the great grandchildren) to know more about our Lolo's.

My cousin light up a candle on my Lolo's grave.

My Lola's grave, which is just beside my Lolo's also get its own share of flowers.

Some people (who don't know us) who would see us in the cemetery would really wonder because after the memorial service, we would sing a happy birthday song and have a snacks party right there in the cemetery.

AND?

So, for me, I always look forward to November 2nd because I, together with my family "celebrate" it a bit different than how others would spend it. For me, November 2nd is remembering the greatest grandfather in the world, my Lolo Cocoy !

You, how do you spend your November 2nd?