Rey Anthony H. Chiu
Tuesday’s observance of All Saints Day will trigger a long vacation starting on Monday with the Boholanos enjoying one more vacation day as they mark the 115 th birthday of the late Boholano president Carlos P. Garcia on November 4. In Roman Catholic Philippines, the observance of the day of saints is drowned by the following day’s celebration of All Souls Day as people from all walks of life are more occupied with remembering their loved ones in cemeteries here, there and everywhere. Whether in well-manicured memorial parks or in crowded public cemeteries, the day is marked with utter solemnity with the living gathered in tombs of their dearly beloved who have gone ahead to meet their Creator. It used to be that celebrating the day of the dearly departed is a day of revelry with the living making all excuses to drink and be merry for “tomorrow is another day of serious business”. Until law enforcers called it a day by prohibiting all kinds of revelries in the day of the dead.
The customs and traditions associated with All Soul's Day are various and differs from culture to culture. It is the common belief that the dead partake of the food in spirit which the living eat later. Therefore an altar is prepared at home with an offering of food upon it. The offerings (ofrendas) are beautifully arranged with flowers such as marigolds which are the traditional flower of the dead. Flowers serve as a living memory reminding us that once these people had remained close to us and they, like us, had once been fascinated by the beauty and color of life. A candle is lit for each soul and they are also embellished in the same way. Incense, mementos, photos and other remembrances of the dead are also kept along with the ofrenda.
THE LONG VACATION
With All Saints Day a regular holiday, for every Filipino, the long weekend started yesterday, Saturday. With tomorrow being sandwiched by two holidays, Malacanang decided to prolonged the long weekend until Tuesday. In addition to all these holidays including CPG Day on November 4, another holiday on November 7 is in the offing. The day is declared as , the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice or popularly known as Eid’l Adha. That means, the first long weekend of four days vacation happens on October 29 (Saturday) to November 1 (Tuesday). The second long weekend is again a four day vacation for Bohol which starts November 4 (Friday) to November 7. Bohol celebrates Carlos P. Garcia Day on Friday, November 4, which has already been declared by law as a regular holiday here. That makes only two workday week-day, where the work days are only for November 2 and 3. In fact, for some Catholic schools here that also observe the All Soul’s Day on November 2, it could be a one day work week. In his Proclamation 265, President Benigno Simeon Aquino III declared October 31, a special non working day in the entire country.
The day falls between a Sunday and November 1, Tuesday, a traditional special non worki8ng day through the country as it is All Saints’ Day. According to the proclamation, Malacanang sees the non-working day proclamation as a chance for people to have the perfect opportunity to properly observe the day with all its religious fervor which invariably requires them to travel to and from different regions of the country. In Bohol, November 4 is again a holiday to commemorate the birth anniversary of the late President Carlos P. Garcia, the most illustrious son of Bohol. Through Republic Act 7448, the law has declared November 4 a special non-working holiday, while it also declares November 2-6 as CPG week. In the country’s Official Gazette, Malacanang has also posted Proclamation 276, which declares November 7 as regular holiday in the country in observance of Eid’l Adha. The proclamation effectively effects another long week-end: three free days for the country and four consecutive no work days for Boholanos. |
