Lighting candles, offering food and flowers, and honoring the departed are part of the Philippine culture.
To keep departed loved ones by remembering them is a Filipino custom known as Undas.
UNDAS
U-ndas unites all for a
N-otable reason especially
D-edicated to
A-ll departed
S-ouls.
It happens every first and second day of November, November 1 being All Souls Day and November 2 being All Saints Day.
All Souls Day is a day of remembrance for all the souls who have died, including friends, relatives, and family members. On the other hand, All Souls Day is a celebration of all martyrs and saints. But Filipinos all over the country have a distinction in remembering the departed.
Before All Souls Day and All Saints day, we had already visited the cemetery to clean the graves, although we visited the cemetery every afternoon until evening. To plan and clean a week ago is also our simple way of planning to avoid the rush and the crowd.
Since our closest family members were in one place, there was no other need for us to go to another cemetery to light a candle on the graves to another location.
However, we lit a candle on the giant cross for friends and relatives buried in other cemeteries.
On November 01, 2022, we attended the morning mass to offer prayers for all who had departed.
Part of our belief is to light two colors of candles in black and white.
Although most Filipinos use white candles, our belief is to use black candles as candles for all departed souls.
The black candle is a unique candle for our belief. Others may think of it as evil spirits and black magic, but there is nothing special about this candle except for its color, which is rare.
The color black symbolizes all the departed souls, while white symbolizes all—the saints and martyrs.
After church, we were busy preparing food to offer to all souls, most especially our departed loved ones.
Here are the foods that we prepared during All Souls Day, thinking that these are all the favorites of our departed loved ones.
The foods offered at the table include native foods such as Bibingka, Suman, And Palitaw.
Bibingka is a Filipino delicacy made from baked rice and other ingredients, Suman is a rice cake, and Palitaw is a sweet rice cake.
Kutsinta, which is a steamed rice cake, was also offered with cheese toppings, and it is my late sister’s favorite.
I grilled Kitong or rabbit fish with spicy soy sauce, vinegar, and lemon sauce combined with chopped onions and tomatoes.
In addition, I also grilled pork to offer at the table with the Filipino red rice.
We also prepared baked spaghetti, fish fillets, and chicken cordon bleu. All of these are also the favorites of my sweet sister.
The fruits served at the table were of two kinds, namely bananas and grapes.
After we had prepared all the food, we offered a spontaneous prayer to all the departed and honored all the saints and martyrs by mentioning their names one by one through a prayer guide.
We lit both candles in black and white as we remembered them in our thoughts through prayers.
Suddenly, after we were done offering a prayer, the family of Charles, the boyfriend of my late sister, came because we were planning to have a night vigil at the cemetery.
So, we shared the food, and they also brought different foods such as spaghetti, fillet, and Leche flan. We enjoyed every moment, yet a part of it was empty because someone was not with us anymore.
As soon as we had done eating, we went to the cemetery and brought all the food there as we spent quality time with the family of Charles and my family.
When we had a vigil at the cemetery, we took this time to remember how our departed loved ones played a role in our lives, especially my dearest sister Erika, my uncle, and my grandfather, who were all buried in one place.
While at the cemetery, we were telling anecdotes and good stories from the past when they were still alive.
Since the death of my sister was tragic, it left a heavy mark on my heart, and my tears kept on falling while we were on a vigil.
But I tried to be okay because surely my sister did not want to see me in grief forever.
We brought fresh flowers for her. Many bunches of flowers were arranged for her, including unique bouquets.
And then we also brought her mini speaker. We used it to play her favorite songs.
As we played her favorite songs, I remembered how sweet her voice was. Taylor Swift, a famous artist, was loved by my sister when she was still alive.
That is why whenever I could hear songs from Taylor, I always remember my sister because she was her favorite, and she kept singing all her songs while at home.
She once had the golden voice as she usually joined the Hive Open Mic community. How I wish I could hear her sweet voice once more calling me, “Ate”.
Our way of remembering all the departed is through gathering together with my family, offering food to the departed loved ones, lighting candles, offering prayers to all souls, saints, and martyrs, and sharing foods, as we remember that they are sharing foods with us even if we cannot see them physically.
It is like a celebration of love, peace, and hope as we give a whale of a time for prayer, reflect on their good deeds more than ever, and cherish the good old memories despite a heavy heart but with thoughts of moving on and moving forward as we continue to live our lives at present.
Perhaps Undas 2022 paved the way to remember all the departed through a meaningful experience.
Disclaimer: All texts and pictures are my own unless otherwise stated.
