We Filipinos sure love the holidays—and we take it very seriously. If there is any excuse for more festivities, we’ll take it. And as much as we love celebrating stuff, we also believe dearly in the deep meanings behind every tradition.
As we all know, the Philippines is way ahead of the world’s calendar when it comes to celebrating Christmas. Heck there’s even a 100-day countdown as we enter the BER months (September, October, November, and December)! When the breeze grows colder, and the nights are longer, that is our cue to hang our Parols (Christmas lanterns) and play our favorite Christmas songs. The festivities start as early as September 1, and every corner in the country is transported to Christmas Wonderland.
But we are not here to talk about December 25 because there’s a nightmare before it. We’re only a few weeks away from the spooky season but we are also in the middle of a months-long Christmas celebration. That’s the crazy thing about it, I guess. You will see a lot of creepy decorations around too, but the speakers will have Mariah Carey on the loop. LOL.
Like most countries in the world, we Filipinos love to dress up in costumes and host corporate parties. However, those are newer customs. For us, Halloween is just the beginning of a week-long celebration called Undas, the Tagalog term for Día de Todos Los Santos or All Saints' Day. So get comfy in there because in this article, we’ll list down some of the traditions and other stuff that makes Halloween celebration in the Philippines unique.
- Halloween is an OFFICIAL Holiday
Well, not technically Halloween but you’ll see. More than 86 percent of the population in the Philippines are Roman Catholic. That is why every year on the first of November we celebrate All Saints Day as homage to all the saints of the church. On the following day, we then celebrate All Souls Day to commemorate our departed loved ones. Both holidays honor the practice of the Roman Catholic Church. So, while Halloween is celebrated on October 31 around the world, both October 31 and November 1 are declared as non-working holidays to give way for the celebration here in the Philippines. This means time off work and school. Some schools even declare a week’s worth of no classes (because we love our families so much). If we’re lucky, the holidays sometimes fall on a Monday which means that it’s no longer a holiday—it’s already a vacation.
- It is a weeklong affair
As mentioned from the first item, it’s clear that Halloween celebration in the Philippine context is more centered in the spiritual aspect. We pay respect to the souls of our loved ones, and we honor their memory. That is why preparation for the holidays starts a week earlier. Usually, family members go to the cemetery to clean the graves of their departed loved ones. The tombs are being cleaned and repainted, the grass will be cut, and the area will be swept clean. Cemeteries around the country get busier by the end of October.
- Undas Exodus: Camping the cemetery
Since it’s a week-long celebration plus the time off, during the Undas break people usually travel to their provinces or hometowns where their loved ones are buried. This means that bus terminals, ports, and other modes of public transportation are just as busy during Christmas vacation. Once, in one of the major cemeteries in the country, around a million people came to visit on November 1. This is because Filipino families treat Undas like a mini reunion. A picnic will be set-up in the cemetery where families spend the day. It is a time for them to catch up, pray, and reminisce about the life of their loved ones. When the day is over, the celebration continues with a big family dinner at home where the Lola’s share urban legends or spooky stories of their time, cousins are busy playing, and the Tito’s (uncles) are gathered around in a circle sharing stories and drinking (respectfully, of course). However, some families even opt to set-up tents and spend the night at the cemetery (because we’re serious about looking after the dead lol).
- Light the way
When some families can’t really travel to their loved ones' graves during the season, they will make up for it at home. Sometimes, families host a group prayer within the neighborhood where food will be served after. But another way to honor the dead aside from prayers is lighting candles for them. Once the clock strikes 6 in the evening of November 1, candles should be all lined up on the doorstep of every house in the neighborhood. This is a staple in the Filipino tradition. We believe that the candle light will guide the souls of the dead towards their journey to the after-life (because the dead may wander, you know) and because we also believe that the divide between the two realms is at its most vulnerable during this day.
As kids, we were taught not to play with the candle light because the souls are following it. So, technically, playing with the melted wax will do no harm, right? In the evening, kids gather around but they’re not trick-or-treating, they’re actually scouring the neighborhood to collect and create a ball made of wax melts. Is this a weird custom? Yes. Does it make any sense? Well, we don’t know for sure… but it’s fun so kids do it anyway and they get in trouble for it.
- Family Horror Nights
Aside from the spiritual aspect of the season, Filipinos also love the spooky season for the thrill of it. It’s no surprise for a country which has a lot of monsters and weird creepy creatures as their folklores to love the scary stuff. During the Halloween season, TV networks in the country halt their regular programming to make way for showing classic horror movies. These films range from Tagalized classic Hollywood horror films, to locally produced films (Like the iconic Shake Rattle and Roll series, look it up!). But Halloween will not be complete without news magazine programs showcasing paranormal investigative journalism.
If you grew up in the 90s you probably remember the iconic yearly Halloween specials of Magandang Gabi, Bayan (Good Evening, People) hosted by Noli de Castro. But on a more recent one, we also have a contemporary version of this which is Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’s “Gabi ng Lagim” (Night of Horrors) from another network. If you have one Filipino friend, ask them about a scary encounter or to just tell you one horror story. They will probably have one or too many to share because they grew up with these stories!
It has become a family tradition to gather around and watch these yearly Halloween specials featuring the re-enactment of real-life paranormal encounters, ghost sightings, exploring the country’s most haunted places, retelling urban legends passed from generations, and everything scary basically. Aside from the spine-chilling stories which most likely haunted us for life (and probably gave us UTI from refusing to pee in the middle of the night), this yearly tradition has become another means for Filipino families and friends to spend time together and create core memories in one of the country’s most “festive” season lol.