Halloween is a holiday that is celebrated by most people across the world every October. It is a celebration characterized by a festive atmosphere, as children and adults dress up in costumes of scary creatures, or a movie character they admire, or a historical figure they look up to. Children also do trick-or-treating across their neighborhood, wearing their fantastical costumes.
The celebration is usually of a scary concept where people dress up like zombies, ghosts and vampires. The decorations are spooky where you can see bats, spiders and cobwebs, and grave on Halloween booths and other areas. This unique celebration of Halloween in the world varies from every country.
Halloween has become a significant event in the world. It is a night when you can step out of your comfort zone and be entirely different. You can attend themed parties or do some scary pranks to your friends. This celebration offers a chance to tap your imagination, be creative, and embrace the mysterious concepts of the world.
How do you celebrate Halloween in your country? In this article, we will introduce the spooky concepts of Halloween in the Philippines and how it is celebrated yearly.
There are different ways of celebrating Halloween. In the Philippines, the celebration usually takes a week long. Schools, offices, entertainment centers, and malls decorate their areas with a spooky theme. Halloween in the Philippines is not just on October 31st, but it also covers November 1 and 2. This celebration is known as “Undas” where Filipinos visit the graves of their loved ones and offer candles and prayer to them.
The concept of Halloween in the Philippines focuses mainly on the scary ones. It is totally different from other Halloween celebrations in the world because aside from its week-long celebration, it is mainly about the unique traditions and superstitions associated with death or any mysterious events. It is also connected to the Philippine culture particularly on mythical creatures and beliefs.
The origin of Halloween in the Philippines began mainly during the Spanish colonial era. The Spanish introduced All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day respectively to remember and honor the deceased family member or loved ones of Filipinos.
November 1 is All Saints’ Day, which is supposed to be a commemoration of the Saints in Catholicism, and November 2 is All Souls’ Day, which is the day that Filipinos visit cemeteries and offer flowers, candles, and prayers to their deceased loved ones. However, Filipinos tend to celebrate this holiday at once instigating that Halloween is solely for spooky and scary concepts, that’s why when we say “Halloween in the Philippines,” it’s all about horror.
Not only that this celebration was influenced by the Spanish people but also by western countries. The parties and the costumes are ideas of the western celebration. This makes Halloween in the Philippines vibrant and unique – the blend of Spanish and western influence.
You won’t probably believe that Halloween in the Philippines is one contributor to the Philippines’ rich culture and traditions. Here are some of the spooky Filipino Halloween traditions that will surely catch your interest.
Filipinos have this yearly practice of visiting cemeteries and clean the graves of their departed loved ones, days before November 1st. They bring flowers, candles, and food to offer to the deceased, and have a small feast in the cemetery in remembrance of the dead. Big cemeteries are usually full and overcrowded, so some Filipinos visit earlier than the actual day.
Halloween in the Philippines starts one week earlier and ends a day after All Souls’ Day. It’s a much-awaited celebration because some Filipinos travel from the capital back to their respective hometowns, and seaports, airports, and bus terminals are usually overcrowded.
The Philippine television usually showcases horror movies and TV series. The most famous TV show that features scary stories yearly is “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’s Gabi ng Lagim” where many Filipinos contribute their creepy experiences and re-enacted by actors adding an exaggerated spice to make it scarier to watch.
Many old people believe that when you smell candles or flowers around you, the soul of the departed is visiting you. At the same time, when you do not visit the cemetery, the soul will appear so you see them.
Candles are for the soul, so Filipinos light up candles and put them in their altars at home or on their window panes. This is also a way to remember their deceased family member and it’s an offering for their soul to go to heaven.
Family reunion in the Philippines is a common tradition that usually takes place in Christmas, but it can also be celebrated in Halloween. Filipino families gather together – this is because of the week-long celebration and long days off when families get the chance to unite again and celebrate Halloween.
Because of the influence of modernization and new trend, Halloween in the Philippines is not only celebrated in cemeteries and visit the departed loved ones. Some Filipinos prefer to travel to other countries or to some domestic islands in the country to celebrate Halloween. They don’t need to visit the graves or offer flowers physically, but for them it’s a solemn celebration within their heart.
It has been a tradition that whenever there is a feast or any celebration, Filipinos offer food at their altars, because they believe that their loved ones will eat them especially if that food is their favorite one.
Believe it or not, pranking friends or family members during “Undas” is another way to celebrate Halloween in the Philippines. The “pranksters” as they call wear scary costumes of ghosts or zombies, and scare people at night. Another one is the putting of a coffin with a candle on top of it in the middle of the road. People passing by on foot will surely be scared and run as fast as they could. Can you imagine that?
As part of the celebration, horror booths are opened for visitors to experience the creepiest night ever. The features of most horror booths are scary decorations, fake bloody victims with cut head, mythical creatures who look like monsters, zombies and vampires ready to eat human flesh, and a lot of the scariest things you’ll ever see. Goosebumps here!
The Philippines is rich in customs and traditions that are unique in the world. Halloween in the Philippines is part of this custom, and it is celebrated not just for the dead, but also to give life and embrace the Philippine folklore.
Scary Philippine mythical creatures include Tikbalang (half human, half horse), kapre (giant black creature that smokes), aswang or mangkukulam (witch or sorcerer), tiyanak (an unborn fetus that turned into a monster), sigbin (a dog-like creature that is not visible to anybody), white lady (a female ghost, usually a victim of a crime), and santelmo (a razing fire turned from human’s blood).
Schools and offices decorate spaces with these creatures, and sometimes feature them in horror booths.
Can you imagine how scary but interesting Halloween in the Philippines is? What is your most unforgettable Halloween experience? Feel free to share it with us and let’s have goosebumps together!
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