Remembering Our Dear Departed Loved Ones...

The day after Halloween, the Philippines has this certain culture of remembering our dear departed loved ones. I believe other countries also have the same thing, but it our country, it's held every November 1 and 2.

Technically, November 1 is called "All Saints Day" while November 2 is "All Souls Day". However, most people or family consider these days as one. Mostly, people go to the cemetery to clean and visit the grave of their departed loved ones. Some people even travel far just to do it.

My family used to do so when I was a student because we usually have a long break at school, but we couldn't do it when I started working. Both my parents' hometowns are quite far from where we live, so it takes time and money to go there.

In addition, it's too crowded and there are less transportation options as well. So, what my family does instead is offer a mass for our dear departed loved ones in the church near our place. We reminisce our past together and prepare some food for them.

Outside our house, we placed some table and lit a candle for them. This is our way of welcoming them. We prepared simple stuff that some of them like when they were still with us.

My late grandpa loves drinking beer. Every time we visit his grave, we bring a bottle for him. I guess it has become the "normal" for our family. As for the sticky rice (suman), my late grandma loves it. :) We used to have it for breakfast paired with some hot chocolate with milk. She didn't like coffee that much. haha

My other grandpa also likes this dish.

We also offered some treats for our late furbaby... Arashi shared his treats with her. :)

My parents and I stayed outside for quite some time. We talked about our fun memories with our departed loved ones. Well, it's not only on this day do we reminisce. Our memories together will always be treasured.

It's now November 2 as I'm posting this. We're going to light some candles again later tonight. :) For now, it's time to go to bed. Thanks for reading and have a great one! See you around! (^^,)/