How We Celebrate Halloween

In Roxas City, Capiz, where I was born and breed, touted as the land of the aswangs (witches) in the Philippines, Halloween is not celebrated with decors and costumes. At least not the kind that they have in the West. No jack-o-lanterns and witches' silhouettes adorn the lawns and windows of houses. No costume wearing kids go trick or treating around neighborhoods. No masquerade balls for grown ups.

So, what do we do to celebrate Halloween? Since November 1 is All Saints' Day, the time for remembering the dead here, cemetery hopping is the order of the day. We try to visit as many cemeteries as we can (dictated by time and financial constraints), particularly those where we have relatives buried. Those with "nearer" relatives are prioritized or given preference and are visited ahead of the others.

In this side of our global village, it is inside the cemeteries and memorial parks where we take our celebrations. During Halloween here, people troop to cemeteries with baskets of food and drinks. We also take floral arrangements and candles with us. For the entire day and until the early morning of the next day, All Soul's Day, we commune with our dearly departed and celebrate in ways only the living can celebrate. That is, through eating and drinking. singing and dancing, playing cards and games. Extravagant floral arrangements are displayed and candles of all colors, shapes and sizes are lighted all through the night. In fact, it is the lighting of candles during twilight that is observed by all the households, in our place. Windows, doorways and stairways of houses, from the humblest to the most ostentatious in Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines will be a glowed with candle lights comes twilight of November 1. Maybe not as many candles will be lighted this year due to economic crisis, but candles will still be lighted. This blogger is certain of that.

Food is a big part of the celebration. When Filipinos celebrate something, they eat. So, what is the usual Halloween fare? We have our own unique kalan- unon (food) especially for the pangalagkalag (feast of the dead) which is truly peculiar in this part of the world, such as, but not limited to:

Ibus (glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk until half done, then, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked till done. Best eaten with ripe mangoes);

Biko (glutinous rice pudding, made of, well, glutinous rice cooked in coconut milk and brown sugar. Best eaten when refrigerated, cold but not frozen, topped with coco milk and brown sugar ganash);

Inday-inday (ground glutinous rice fashion into tongue-like shapes and drop into boiling water. Eaten with grated young coconut cooked in brown sugar);

Becho-becho (ground glutinous rice fashion into finger-like shapes and arrange into three's and deep fried in oil and sprinkled with brown sugar. Best eaten with false teeth taken out coz it is so sticky it will adhere to your false teeth and is very difficult to remove);

Puto (ground rice mix with young coconut milk and sugar and cooked a steamer. Best eaten with dinuguan- entrails of pigs cooked in its own blood).

Then there are the kalamayhati; suman; and baye-baye . All made of rice. The well to do will have lechon (roast pork) and the usual ready made fast food meals.

The celebration usually last till the wee hours of the next day, November 2, which is denominated as All Soul's Day in all Philippine Calendars. Sometimes street parties will be held causing traffic to be rerouted.

That, folks, is how we celebrate Halloween...