TRADITION Crowds pack the manila north cemetery as filipinos visit the graves of their loved ones to offer prayers, candles and flowers on all saints day.  Photo By Ruy Martinez
TRADITION
Crowds pack the manila north cemetery as filipinos visit the graves of their loved ones to offer prayers, candles and flowers on all saints day. Photo By Ruy Martinez

Millions across the Philippines packed into cemeteries on Saturday to pay respects to their dead, in an annual tradition that combines Catholic religious rites with the country’s penchant for festivity.

The Church appealed for a solemn and prayerful observation of the “day of the dead” and urged against turning gravesites into picnic spots.

Police set up frisking booths at cemetery gates to confiscate alcoholic beverages, playing cards, portable karaoke machines and weapons as huge crowds, including children and the elderly, endured slow-moving queues.

“It is very important for Filipinos to pay respects to their dead. This is also a chance for a family reunion,” 21-year-old government worker Mary Joy Pasigan told Agence France-Presse at a cemetery north of the capital Manila.

Get the latest news
delivered to your inbox
Sign up for The Manila Times newsletters
By signing up with an email address, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Pasigan carried her five-year-old niece past cramped corridors of tombs to offer sunflowers and orchids to her dead grandparents.

Conchita Pura, 60, brought sandwiches for her two-hour vigil at the tombs of her aunt and uncle.

“We come here to light candles and offer prayers so that their sins may be forgiven,” she told Agence France-Presse.

“Getting here is painful, but I must endure it to observe tradition,” she said.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines meanwhile said praying for the dead was a “duty” as it appealed to Catholics to “bring back the holy”.

Instead of adopting Western Halloween celebrations and dressing up as vampires and monsters, Catholics should consider posing as saints, the CBCP said in a statement.

But at the Manila North Cemetery, the mood was more festive than solemn as popular fast food chains set up carts selling roasted pig, dim sum, noodles, fried chicken, and steamed pork buns.

The annual pilgrimage to the cemeteries also triggers a mass exodus from Manila, when tens of thousands travel to interior provinces where their relatives are buried.

Police have been placed on the highest alert since Thursday to secure cemeteries and transport terminals.

AFP