Mommy Pehpot, Author at Mommy Pehpot

Mys’ Thoughts and Obsessions: Undas Tradition

Host: The show that will make you or break you. The show that we all love and enjoy. This is:

Hello again everyone! We are now on our second episode of Blogging Today and I heard our show is doing real good on the ratings.

As promised, we have another guest blogger for our week’s theme, UNDAS TRADITIONS. Today, we have a taped interview from Pangasinan! I thought we were to travel to visit and have a chit chat with our guest, but it seems that Peping made it impossible for us to do. Pehpot says she was glad that our guest blogger was safe amidst the heavy flood on the north.

So let’s all welcome Mys of Thoughts and Obsessions.

Mys: Hello guys!

Host: According to Pehpot, one of the reason why she chose you to be our guest is your geographical location. I heard that UNDAS in the provinces are more celebrated, than in the Metro.

Mys: Maybe, but I am not quite sure. I was raised by a single mom so my UNDAS experiences were limited to my mom’s relatives. I practically went to the cemetery with just my mom all the time. Things changed when I grew older and had my nieces and a nephew.

Host: How did it change your UNDAS traditions?

Mys: We now gathered together and went to visit really early in the morning. We bring candles and flowers for our dearly departed. I basically have no memories of these relatives; they all died before I was even born. When we visit, my mom and aunt would tell us stories about them, about being raised by their parents, their struggles, and their lives.

Host: That is one thing that I like about our UNDAS, we got to meet our relatives and got some new stories from them about our departed ones. So how was your UNDAS day strarts I believe that a lot of people goes early on the cemetery and spend the whole day there, is it the same with your family?

Mys: The day usually starts with a frantic breakfast and my mom going out to buy fresh flowers. My job is to fix it in cans or big plastic bottles. We bring newspaper, drinks (diet ones because we’re diabetic), matches and candles.

Our city has very few rich and famous people. One of the tombs that I like looking at is one that was a former Speaker of the House in Congress a very long time ago. A school was named after him and his tomb is very unassuming. His name was Speaker Eugenio Perez.

Host: Not quite familiar with him.. anyways, I am quite curious if you know some crazy UNDAS traditions or if your family practice one.. care to share it with us?

Mys: A long time ago, when I still had time to watch television shows there was a feature on all saints and all souls day. I think what shocked me the most was not the houses of squatters living in the cemeteries but having super wide lots and building houses in the cemeteries complete with pools. I am not one to complain for any comfort while remembering your departed ones but to an extent of a pool? That just blew me away.

Host: whew! That is something extravagant to my taste too. Although we have no right to interfere on their tombs, but you’re right, swimming with the dead ones.. kinda crazy to me.

You really do have e very rich UNDAS tradition, how do you plan to impart this traditions with your kids?

Mys: This year, I think my kids are still too little to appreciate the meaning of Undas. I do plan however to make it a tradition to visit every year and bring the dead some fresh flowers. That we pray for their souls and everyone else we know that have left our midst.
I also plan to impart to them the lessons I’ve learned from the lives led by our relatives who aren’t with us anymore.

Host: That is very admirable Mys.. I hope you enjoyed being a guest here in Blogging Today. In behalf of pehpot, thanks a lot and more power to you.

Learn more about Mys in her other blogs: Blog contest online, Just keep trying

I hope you all had fun with us specially this week, our pilot week. See you again next week here in Blogging Today.

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Yami’s File: Undas Traditions

Host: Hello everyone! As you all know, Pehpot is due with her (gasp!) fourth baby, so she asked me to be here and give you some entertainment, er, some worthwhile articles (oh she asked me to write on her blog!)

Host: So guys, I think we better name this portion as Blogging Today. The hottest talk show in blogniverse. You will be seeing a lot of me every Mondays and Wednesdays (that’s our day slot). We will be having guest bloggers (and most of them are her kumares) and so I hope you will continue to support the show even if Pehpot is not here.

This week we are focused on the traditions that comes with one of the most celebrated or respected occasion in our country, All Saint’s Day or to us Filipinos, UNDAS.

Our guest blogger for today (you would not believe) is a former media personality. She used to write in a tabloid but now is a full time mom but still sneaks on writing for cause. Let’s all welcome, YAMI from Mom Writes For A Cause!!!

Yami: (wish she had brought her kids along.. ) shy smile..

Host: I would love to ask you how you met Pehpot and how you were able to grow your friendship over the net but I guess there is a better place for that kind of chit chat (maybe later..) so now, tell me, how does it feels to be one of the guest here in Blogging Today?

Yami: Blogging Today? ah so that is the title of this guest blogger thing of my kumare. I am thankful to my Mareng Pehpot for inviting me as a guest blogger here today. It feels good to be given such an opportunity by a seasoned blogger like her. Thank you.

Host: So Yami, tell us about your UNDAS traditions. Do you still went to the cemetery to light up some candles and bring flowers to your departed love ones?

Yami: I grew up in the Catholic tradition of visiting the cemetery every Nov. 1. We would brave the crowd just to bring flowers and candles for our departed loved ones. The occasion itself serves as family reunion to us. And the ‘reunion’ would not be complete without the sumptuous “sinigang’ or ‘nilagang baboy’ served for lunch. In the afternoon, my mother would cook ‘kakanin’ usually ‘biko’ for our snack before we head to the cemetery.

Host: Sinigang? That sounds unusual to me. It was the first time I heard such during UNDAS, but I am pretty sure it was such a fun ” reunion”.

Yami: Yes it was but now we no longer practiced the tradition in recent years. It’s because there were no tombs to visit anymore. The area where once the cemetery stood for decades is now the haven of a big commercial establishment. My uncle failed to recover what was left of the remains of my grandparents. Oddly enough, the commercial area is reportedly haunted by ghosts.

My uncle was able to secure a ceremonial place for my lolo and lola at the next town’s cemetery.

So for many years, my family has been celebrating All Soul’s Day at home. I would light a candle beside the picture of my lola (sorry I have no picture of my Lolo to show you) and say a little prayer for them. My kids grew up seeing my simple way of remembering the life of their great grandparents. I hope they would do the same when they are older. I also light some candles outside our door, another common practice of those who practice the faith. It is said to guide the path of the spirits in another life.

The most common practice that my kids love during UNDAS is the sharing of ghost stories specially local legends like manananngal or aswang..

Host: (sits uncomfortably) Oh well, as much as I want to talk about ghosts and all, our time is up..In behalf of pehpot, I would like to thank you Yami for sharing with your UNDAS traditions.

To know more about Yami, head on to her site: Mom Writes For A Cause and Yami’s File. Again, thank you so much Yami and hope to hear more from you, see you again on Wednesday for our next episode of Blogging Today.