Happy Halloween, everyone! Trick-or-treaters, are your Halloween costumes ready? Well, have fun but be safe out there when you go house to house with your parents or guardians.
Yes, it's Halloween again! That means front porches or yards and houses are decorated with seasonal flags, carved pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns or improvised Halloween decorations. It also means children have already selected or are ready with their Halloween attire.
I imagine there will be kids in their Power Ranger, Batman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, witch, police, firefighter or princess attire. Some will be dressed up in just casual costumes with their plastic or canvas bags on hand, hopeful for assortment of candies. Likewise, there will be those older kids dressed up as ugly, scary beasts, vampire-like creature or witches.
Kids will be going door-to-door in the neighborhood, escorted or accompanied by their parents or guardians, greeting the homeowners with a shout of "Trick or treat!" while the latter have prepared some goodies to give away.
Halloween tradition came to North America from Ireland more than a century ago. Today, it has become a business industry from Hollywood to the isle of the nearest discount and grocery chain stores, malls and even eateries.
Kids of all ages, even the young teens and adults, still get a kick out of the cheap thrill of a good ghost story, strange tales in plays, or spooky movie, which abound this time of year. This is just an indication that fear is a part of life.
In the predominantly Catholic Philippines, where I was born, Filipinos didn't have this Halloween back then. But with the proliferation of social media and Western culture influence, they now celebrate it on the last day of October, with children, like in the U.S. and elsewhere, dressed in different Halloween costumes. and rooming around the malls for candies, goodies and sweets.
On the other hand, townsfolk go to public cemeteries and clean gravesites the last week of October. En masse, they prepare the cemeteries to be visited once again. Gravesites or tombs are freshly-painted to honor their beloved dead.
Filipinos, and Catholics around the world, pay homage to their beloved departed on Nov. 1, All Saints' Day (which is a Holy Day of Obligation), and Nov. 2, All Souls' Day (The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed). In addition to remembering their deceased loved ones, they also honor the Catholic Church's saints. They believe these saints inspire and guide them in their daily lives. When they pray or attend Mass in church, they ask for their intercession so their prayers become meaningful, and they hope their prayers and hopeful wishes will be granted.
In the Philippines, people go to cemeteries late afternoon or early evening, Nov.1 and Nov. 2, and light candles at the tombs, offering flowers or wreathes, and prayers. In other parts of the country, townsfolk have this tradition of offering food to and for their dead.
In cemeteries, Mass for the dead is also said and celebrated by a town priest or pastor, who then blesses and sprinkles holy water on the gravesites.
People publicly display their reverence to their dead who, having been a part of their families, deserve to be remembered and respected.
Public and private schools and colleges are closed on Nov. 1 and 2. College students, studying in big cities like Manila or Baguio City, go to their home provinces to pay respects to their dead. These two-day events can serve as a great opportunity for townsfolk to see or mingle with friends and family members who may have been away from their community for a while.
To all Catholics, Happy All Saints'/Souls' Day! And to all the kids in all of us, have a fun but safe Halloween!
-Chris A. Quilpa, a retired U.S. Navy veteran, lives in Suffolk. Email him at chris.a.quilpa@gmail.com.
*Appeared in the Opinion page of the award-winning Suffolk News-Herald, Sunday, October 28, 2018. For more information, visit www.suffolknewsherald.org.
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