Filipinos Celebrate UNDAS
October 30, 2011 by admin
Filed under Featured Articles
Undas came from the Spanish word andas or honra, Todos Los Santos (All Saints Day), Araw ng mga Patay (Day of the dead) in the Philippines is one of the most celebrated holidays in the Philippines. It has more of a family reunion atmosphere, since family members are expected to gather in the cemeteries to visit their departed loved ones. This long-standing tradition is practiced since the Spanish era. Tombs are cleaned and repainted, days or weeks before the 1st of November. Candles are lit, flowers and even foods are offered. The whole clan camp in cemeteries, spend a day or even a night or two on their relatives’ tombs. There are card games, eating, drinking, singing and dancing. However, the last three activities are being banned nowadays to avoid fights, crimes and promote the solemnity of the day.
Most of the time, on the last day of October, Filipinos are already busy preparing for the next day. Items such as candles, flowers, snacks are supposed to be back by this time. People who had offices the day before would rush into airports, bus terminals and ship ports to go home to their respective provinces. Authorities tighten securities with their annual All Souls/All Saints Day, “Operation Undas”.
November 1 is actually All Saints Day, supposedly it is the day where people would go to church and hear mass and November 2 is the day when people visit the grave of their relatives. However, through the years different customs has evolved: there was no longer All Saints day, instead people would descent to the tombs of their relatives on November 1 and for those people who didn’t want to join the exodus, they would visit the next day, November 2. But for most, this is the day where they would go back to their workplace or to the cities.
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