The first 2 days of November: Timely reminders

The first two days of November are always welcome days for Filipinos.

One, these days are always days of break, days to spend with families, the living and the dead.

Especially on these two days, the cemeteries are a sight to behold.

All types, shapes, and colors of flowers are strewn throughout. Natural scents as well as the smell of people and food mix as well.

Cultural blends are also evident during these days.

Aside from mostly red flowers, the Chinese worship with tall, huge red candles with incense and various food and fruits laid out on the altar or table for their dead. Filipinos, on the other hand, use white and yellow candles and mostly white or yellow chrysanthemums or daisies or roses for their dead.

Reminders of inequality of the dead and the living are also evident throughout the cemeteries during these days.

The poor, whether dead or alive, always find themselves in congested areas, as residence for those alive or as burial places for the dead. Muddy, dirty, smelly are adjectives the poor are so used to for their locations in this world, dead or alive.

The rich, on the other hand, claim space and luxury in life and in death. How many families of the poor can be housed in the mausoleum of the rich?

Cemeteries are also reminders of history.

Who was born and who died when are marked all throughout the land of the dead. What type of parent, child, professional or person lived and died are also identified among the graves.

The two days of November, however, also serve as timely reminders of the universality of worship and love for family and for the dead. Those who have gone ahead are never forgotten by their loved ones especially during these days. Family reunions of the dead and the living are cathartic occasions observed during these days.

The first two days of November are also timely reminders of the significance of the blend of the temporal and the spiritual.

The two days remind all that while death highlights the end of transient, earthly life, death also heralds the beginning and eternity of spiritual life. Life on earth should be cherished only as far as this temporal life can lead towards an eternity beyond death.

It is also striking that these first two days of November start with the celebration of the life of the saints, followed by a remembrance of the departed souls.

Life on earth may be difficult but there are the saints to remind all that the struggle and race to the finish are all worth it after all. Should human efforts be short to make one a saint, there is still a chance for the departed souls to relish the beauty and joy of eternal rest and peace through prayers to the Lord to grant their departed loved ones the grace of finally being reunited with Him and the saints and angels in heaven.

The first two days of November are also timely reminders that ten months have passed and the year has only or still has two months to go before a new one comes. Time to renew, time to catch up, time to start anew, time to pause, time to do that which is appropriate for one's one needs.

The first two days of November remind all about the importance of time, of life, of love, of families, here and beyond.