Seven Philippine Traditions Pertaining to Halloween

I grew up without the frivolities or the eccentricities of Halloween parties. It is not because Halloween is unknown in my country, but it’s quite due to the fact that in many Philippine provinces, such peculiar merriments are just not observed. However, like many holidays, Halloween in the Philippines comes in various colorful idiosyncratic Filipino customs such as follows:

Halloween tradition # 1

All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day

In the Philippines, November 1 is All Saints’ Day, a legal holiday and November 2 is All Soul’s Day, which is usually declared as a special holiday as well. During these days, Filipino families honor the memory of their departed loved ones. People go to memorial parks and cemeteries to visit the graves of their dead relatives. Such visits are a sort of homage to their loved ones who had gone to the hereafter.

Cemeteries, particularly public ones, really become places to reckon with during these days as they tend to be fully packed with people. Relatives from far-off provinces, or even abroad often go to the cemeteries where their loved ones were buried. The normally eerie silence of cemeteries turns into a raucous hubbub as people flood into their gates to pay respect to their departed loved ones.

Halloween tradition # 2

Halloween as a sort of family get-together

Halloween in the Philippines is a sort of family reunion where family members from far-off places would gather together in the graveyards of their loved ones and pay tribute to them in a picnic-like fashion, bringing and sharing foods and beverages. In private memorial parks where most of wealthy families have mausoleums, both children and adult family members, even stay overnight.

During my childhood in the province, we used to visit some of our relatives right after going to the cemetery. Some distant relatives would also visit our home during these holidays. And during these family gatherings, it is common to do some catching up on one another’s recent activities and achievements over some delectable native treats.

Halloween tradition # 3

Traditional foods usually prepared

It is also quite traditional for Filipinos in the provinces to prepare some native delicacies during All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days. Even if we were not expecting any guests, my mother would always prepare holiday treats such as suman, biko, and champorado, among the most popular Filipino delicacies made from a sticky rice variety.

Other favorite treats include hot chocolate, sticky rice specialties such as palitaw, bilo-bilo, and kutsinta, and other famous Filipino delicacies like puto, guinataan, sapin-sapin, halayang ube, and a lot more.