Questions About All Soul's Day

         Pinoy Morticia Addams

November 1 and 2 is not Halloween ... it is not also a funeral either ... it is All Soul's Day and All Saint's Day where we dress in scary costumes and grieve in style. The person wearing the costume may not be as effective as a cosplayer ... but the avant-garde fashion is looking sharp and on point. It is not a costume party ... but a commemorative service ... but who cares? Our OOTD may not be appropriate for some ... but people come here to dress to impress and make a lasting impression.  They are here to make a fashion statement.

People don't mind if they look like Morticia Addams ... on the contrary, they may even feel she was complimented by your not-so-positive comment. And no matter how spooky they look as ghosts ... there is one thing they wish for ... they hope their dead loved ones will judge their outfit as flashy and not spooky ... and when they see them will raise a two-thumbs up with their costumes even if looked disgusting.

November 1 and 2 were also days when we made that trek to the cemetery, armed with trowels and hoes to remove the pesky weeds that had all things covered. They grow ... oh so freely ... and their confidence threatens the beauty of the tomb and mausoleum when they decide a wall-to-wall carpet is a standard ... and is a necessary look for the graveyard. Whoever has that idea ... needs a little visit from the cold-blooded killer from Texas Chainsaw Massacre ... or just to scare him a bit ... a glimpse of the Night of the Living Dead.

We also brought flowers and candles to remember our dearly beloved (our parents and grandparents), but it doesn't mean this annual family reunion has to be REFLECTIVE and CONTEMPLATIVE, SOBER and SOMBER, or a teary recollection of memories of what was ...  when they were alive. All Soul's Day is the time to salute and pay homage to their admirable set of accomplishments and achievements and their cringe-worthy slips and gaffes. It is also time to reminisce certain anecdotes that will tickle them pink like a rose ... or humiliating episodes they'd rather keep in hiding.

A simple dash of humor here and there will lighten up the mood and a little hilarity is a  much-needed condiment to spice up our GLUM and GLOOMY spirit and disposition the day gives.

November 1 and 2 is also the time we celebrate life and death ... and what better thing to do in Undas (Dia de Todos Los Santos) than cooking atang food ) a plate full of rice cakes like suman and kalamay hati, round fruits for Chinoys and cassava cakes made as a gesture or an offering to remember our deceased family members. And who needs a fortune teller or crystal ball to predict what food is included on November 1 carte du jour(menu)? It is predictable indeed. An All Soul's Day potluck without the above food ... without a doubt ... the organizer deserved to be beheaded by a guillotine.

While we are at it ... there are too many questions playing in my head ... similar to revving motorcycles on the highway. The fact of the matter is that it is giving me a headache ... asking questions may help. Questions that range from the most profound to the most stupid ... from the most philosophical to irrational.

Questions like ... do our deceased family members really eat the food we offered them on this day? They may be dead ... but are their taste buds still alive? Are they being fed wherever they are ... or they are being starved ... and Nov 1 is the only time they can eat with us? Do the spirits descend on All Saints Day ... did they come for the company ... and did they really stay for the feast? Why do we have to settle with cheap rice cakes ... and why not go with lechon or fried chicken? Does heaven or hell serve them with half delicious food items that they have to go down once a year to eat? Does a carnivorous dead family member eventually become vegetarian when they die that they are contented with just the "atang food" we serve? Does the government and the Church make these days a holiday because it is the only day in the year when it is SANE to invite our dead ancestors to dinner and eat with us?

All Souls Day reminds us that life is short and fragile.  It is fleeting and it happens very fast. It is something that doesn't last as long as you like. You don't realize it because you are in it. But looking back it is fleeting, a blip in a big timeline scheme of things.

All Saint's Day and Social Media

All Souls Day - a feast for the living and the dead? Yes, it is that time of the year when the whole family troops to the church and offers a mass for the departed members and pays them respect.  It is supposed to be a commemorative service ... a time for serious reflection and deep contemplation. It requires one to concentrate and the focal point is celebrating the memory of our loved ones.

But how can we do it when we are sitting in front of high school students who were not there to attend the mass ... but probably fulfilling an obligation to the family by being present physically ... but were actually mentally absent because they were busy attending to their phones and calls. Everybody was distracted and inattentive ... they looked like their business with their phones was more important than praying for their loved ones.

If you have sore eyes ... what we saw and experienced is a sight to have more sore eyes or retinopathy or keratoconjunctivitis. I saw one student who couldn't wait for the mass to end ... and she checked her messages right under the pew.  And she has the courage to answer them as if she is proud that everybody is looking at her.

Another one in broad daylight ... scrolled her Facebook account as she mumbled inaudible words and pretended she was praying. Such a spoiled brat! Another phone buzzed nearby and the guy sensing an adult was giving him dagger looks ... automatically muted his phone./

When the priest had his homily about life and death ... no one was listening. One guy almost dozed off and one is bored to death ... expecting maybe the priest will incorporate comedy spiels to wake up his audience.  And what was his quickie relief from boredom? You're right ... he secretly peeked at his notifications right under the nose of the annoyed adults on his left.  Paying tribute to the dead is challenging ... especially this guy who is almost in the Twilight Zone while listening to the sermon.

And these activities did not end there.  Beautiful Offertory songs were sung... and that did not prevent another guy from checking his emails. The mass needed everybody for some profound examination of himself but we saw phone-swiping in progress.

We bow our heads for the Sanctus but this pesky kid bows his head to get a selfie (a photograph of himself ... taken by himself.) What are these kids thinking? Is discipline dead? What is infuriating was that all these activities were done inside the church. Where is respect when you need one?

Does social media have a negative influence on student's discipline and behavior?

According to studies ... social media was found to have influenced students' discipline negatively in schools. Social media has also an impact on the student's behavior. As students repeatedly checked messages on social media ... they got addicted to them.  As a result their cognitive repertoire and mental capacity have become limited ... as they lose their concentration ... and also their discipline.

.Students who spend too much time on social media may struggle with time management and become less productive in the classroom. Students are easily distracted from their studies by constant alerts, endless scrolling feeds, and the appeal of viral material.

Other negative effects of social media are distracting them, disrupting their sleep pattern, and exposing them to bullying, peer pressure, and rumor-spreading.

Going back to the question: Is All Souls Day a feast of the LIVING and the DEAD? Yes ... it is supposed to be the time when the living gives respect to the dead. Or it could be interpreted this way:  Sa araw ng mga PATAY ... ang mga tao ay BUHAY na BUHAY. Ang mga bata ngayon kahit sa loob ng simbahan wala ng sinaSanto ... kahit Todos Los Santos.

Kaya sa Araw Ng Mga Patay ... i-celebrate din natin ang mga BUHAY ... unfortunately as it turned out ... ang mga BUHAY ay PA-PATAY PATAY (their discipline and respect I mean) ... the way they act ... and the way they behaved.