Today the whole country is celebrating All Saints Day which is commonly called as ‘Undas’ or Day of the Dead People. People would commonly buy candles and flowers and bring it to cemetery to pay respect and visit the tomb of their dead loved ones. Some bring plenty of food somewhat like a feast because the whole clan will be there to eat, drink and reunite.
This is the common tradition of Filipinos, I remember when I was a child I would see the oldies pray hard as they lit candles and offer flowers. Now when you go to cemeteries you’ll wonder at some people (not all) who celebrate this season with deafening sound system, teenagers who seem like dating only and people who care only for making their cemetery place as beautiful as their houses. I still see some old people who observe this occasion with praying but they’re very few.
It makes me wonder the true purpose of this occasion. My father died on March 1997 and when we visit his grave we only bring flowers and prayers for him. I believe that simple flowers and prayers are enough because when he was still with us we lavished him with all the love and attention to the best that we can give him. He suffered stroke in 1981 and since then my Mom has been our sole provider because we didn’t want him to work again to prevent stroke occurrence. Even if we have only enough money to sustain us we provided him with everything he needs especially when we finally had a job. He was treated with special love, attention and care up to his last breathing moment.
It’s alright to spend money on expensive candles and flowers as long as we also gave that same care and attention when they were still living with us. We should always give the best of our love to our family, give them flowers on special occasions and care for them deeply because if they die no amount of beautiful flowers can compensate for our shortcomings. Just a reminder!
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