Tradition, tradition—keeps our culture alive

Nov. 1 and 2 are important holidays for us Pinoys, not only for the religious implications of All Saints’ Day, but more so I guess for the celebration of a widely-observed tradition which is still very much alive.

Undas, the word is fairly new—I don’t remember hearing that word from the old folks back when our whole family, my parents and brothers together with my dad’s brothers would troop to the Manila North Cemetery with bags of supplies, a big cooler of drinks, folding chairs and yes, food to last us the whole day. For all of us, it was simply Araw Ng Mga Patay and everyone looked forward to Nov. 1 or 2, an all-important occasion for all Filipino families, and ours was as traditional as one can get.

All the special occasions associated with Filipino family celebrations like Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Christmas, New Year, even Labor Day, which was an occasion to go up to Antipolo and Hinulugang Taktak, were red letter days for the big clan.  Good Friday was when we would enjoy the salty goodness of bacalao, sometimes made from local ingredients like daing (dried fish), which my Mom expertly prepared. For Easter Sunday, it was usually a day for kare kare when we would break the bihilya (days of abstinence): and enjoy meat after days of fish.

May 1, for instance, which is my brother Eddie’s birthday, was reserved for the long trek to Antipolo in three cars for the three sons and their families. Tradition had it that lunch always consisted of lechon which we bought at one of the numerous lechon stalls that lined the road outside of the church and whatever else was sold there.  After mass, everyone headed for the stalls to find a long table that could fit everyone and enjoy the hot crispy lechon skin with rice, plus whatever else we fancied. There were always stories told and re-told. Then it was time to buy small brown bags of newly roasted kasuy, still warm and crunchy, and of course strings of the suman sa ibos that made a name for Antipolo.

This string of activities never changed over the years.  It went on like clockwork year after year until my brother Eddie and his family migrated to the US a couple of decades ago.  Now I miss that, especially since another special occasion for family bonding is upon us once again – All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day which encompasses the days from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, perhaps even Nov. 3 if this happens on the tail end of a long weekend.

I still see throngs of families braving the long walk inside La Loma cemetery and Manila North Cemetery, but this time, the venues have expanded to include the memorial parks, which have also increased in number over the last three decades.  The dailies estimate the number of trekkers to the Manila North Cemetery alone at one million, not including Thursday, Nov. 2.  And to think that it rained buckets the night before.  That didn’t deter whole families from making a picnic out of the occasion, with old folks and even very young children in tow.  It is amazing how the Pinoy family has kept up the tradition, no matter the limitations on logistics – lack of a vehicle, horrific traffic, escalating cost of food, and others like adverse weather conditions.  This was going to be another “Pinoy Holiday”, and nothing can stop them from enjoying it.

Back when there wasn’t much traffic to speak of in the ’60s and ‘70s, our clan was no different. Much, much earlier, the old folks would bring pots of rice and viands, but perhaps this became too cumbersome as they aged. Back then, my mother would cook a large amount of bopis (the dry type), which consisted mainly of finely chopped boiled pork lungs a day before Nov. 1. We savored bopis with hot rice, which we somehow associated with the occasion. What I remember were the sandwiches my Mom would prepare for the trek to the cemetery: pan de sal filled with, hold your breath, bopis left over from the previous day. This is Greek to many now, but I remember it was always a big hit among the family members. My wife Babes would wonder in amazement how we could enjoy pan de sal con bopis, a viand, which had a tangy, sour and spicy taste best eaten with hot rice, but it was a fact that we all enjoyed the treat.  I mean all, with no exception.

When my parents passed on in the mid-’80s and early ’90s, no one in the family carried on with the tradition. Now, Undas is a short visit to the memorial park to visit our dear departed family members, a short silent prayer, lighted candles and vases of fresh flowers, and never on Nov. 1. How traditions have changed drastically over the years. As one gets older, one sees the wisdom of these family occasions as bonding moments and respect for traditions, but one can also see with clear eyes the the folly of going through all the hassle of those “picnics”.  Our young generation will never see the positive side of the traditions, but they are worth recounting to them every now and then, as we still do.

Every now and then I look back with fondness at those memories, and I actually miss those family bonding, and particularly the pan de sal con bopis. To those who have held on to these traditions notwithstanding the difficulties they now present, kudos to you.  Many of us have bade goodbye to that tradition and have kept up with the times, perhaps as a concession to the younger generation, so all we have now are the pleasant memories.

Mabuhay!!!  Be proud to be a Filipino.

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