(edited from canva)
Hello Hivers,💀👻
As you can imagine, we are now on the 11th month of the year and we are about to leave the year 2023. Well, time flies so fast and we can't do anything about it. Anyways, in this blog, let us talk about November specifically its two well-known holidays. The All Saints Day and All Souls Day every November one and two of the year. And the practiced Filipino Culture during these days.
When I was a kid, I never knew what is the essence and importance of having these two. It sounds boring, tiring, and of no use to me. Going to a cemetery, with candles all over the graveyard view, all other broken human bones plus the skull with its teeth smiling at you is just a scary scenario for me.
But as I grew up, I was able to understand everything. I was enlightened by time and my ignorance or should I say my innocence is gone. Hivers, I want to share my knowledge about it because as they say, sharing is caring.🥰
Let us discuss it here the following:
-What is All Saints day
-What is All Souls Day
-What we did during these days.
All Saints Day is an important day in our Catholic Life. It is a way to show our strong faith and belief in Him. All Saints Day is a day for all saints all over the world, known or unknown. Most Catholics go to church to ask for mercy, and guidance and to pray for the souls of their loved ones who passed away through holy rosary, personal prayers, or mass intentions. It is also a practice to attend the holy mass and listen to the words of God.
All Saints Day is important because this is the day where we remember all Saints. We pray and ask for help from them because they are Saints. They were humans who did good deeds when they were alive and they serve as our Role models. They obey the rules of our Almighty God and because of their good, heroic, and kind doings, they are given the title of Saints. And that is the price of their heartful labor during their time. As a result, they have the right to keep an eye on us humans who live on Earth.
Most of us believe that Saints are now living together with our Almighty God in Heaven and in that way, they can relay our worries and prayers to our Almighty God. I believe that because of our faith and belief, we are far from danger and guided by the holy spirit.
So much for that, let us now proceed to...
Why does it sound scary when we hear the words All Souls Day or Day of the Dead?
Is it because we go to the cemetery to see the skulls with their smiling teeth and dislocated naked bones?
Is it because of the Candles?
Is it because of the souls?
Perhaps maybe.🤷🏻♀️
They say that it is so scary because it is the time when mythical creatures like Tikbalang, White Lady, Engkanto, Manananggal, Kapre, and Aswang wander the earth. (There is so much to mention but that's the most famous Filipino mythical creatures).
That's what the older says to me. Thus, that was when I was a kid. As I grew up, I understood why it happened and the truth is that there is nothing to be scared of.
The true essence of All Souls Day is to remember the souls of the Dead. It is the time when we go to the cemetery and visit the grave of our loved ones. Together with the family, we light candles and pray the holy rosary for them. If humans eat food to survive, souls need prayer to get salvation. It doesn't mean that because they are dead, we will forget them. That's a big no to us. We are not sure if their souls are happy that is why praying for their souls is a big help to them and to show love and care even though they are no longer with us physically.
This means that believing the presence of mythical creatures during this time is not true. It is only scary because we believe and agree in our imaginations. We imagined that they were real and wandering with us. We are scaring ourselves of a mere belief.
Since we are now aware, may we be the first step to stop this notion and spread factual information among our family, friends, and someone we know.
What we did during these days
Since I am surrounded by a religious family, we also spend time visiting our loved ones who passed away in the cemetery. We visited two cemeteries. The First was in Poblacion Tabogon. We visited our Grandparents, brought them flowers and the whole family offered them a holy rosary. We always tried our best to visit them on every date of their birthdays, death anniversaries, and especially All Souls Day. Sometimes, My uncle who is a priest offers a mass for them but at the moment my uncle is very busy in his parish, so the best other option we have is to pray a holy rosary for them.
The Second cemetery we visited was in Caduawan, cemetery, located at Caduawan Tabogon, Cebu. We visited our great-grandparents and all other relatives who were buried there. Same at Tabogon cemetery, we offered and did the same thing.
Above all, what's important on All Saints Day and All Souls Day is the prayers offered to them.
In Saints, it is a way of showing our heartfelt appreciation to them. We are thankful for all the goodness, blessings, and prosperity. We also keep on praying every day for guidance for everything we do and to the whole family of course.
In Souls, we give them prayers to help them. Prayer is a big thing because only God knows if their souls are living with him or if are they still living in the fires of hell. Through prayers, we can help them get out of satan's territory. It is also a sign that they are still loved, valued, and not forgotten. They may be gone from our sight but the efforts and love they showed to us when they were here are still present and irreplaceable.
In that way also, we are creating a strong connection and strong bond within our family. Going to the cemetery, praying the whole rosary, and attending the mass together will strengthen your belief and is a sign that the family is living a smooth and healthy relationship at home, and that is a very good thing to practice.
That would be all guys,😊 may the Saints hear our prayers, and may the souls of our loved ones be out of the fires of hell. Bless us all Hivers!