My childhood memories on All Saints Day and All Souls Day

When I was young, I have lots of memories on All Saints Day which happens every 1st of November. This is a time of the year, that we, as young children would have lots of fun because our cousins and relatives from other places would go home. There would be lots of foods cooked, usually native delicacies- suman(made of rice wrapped in banana leaf), bebingka (rice cake), biko, boiled native chicken. In the evening, my Pappa and Momma would prepare food and put it in the altar. These traditions are influences from my grandma during that time. Being a young child and curious that I was, I would ask questions to my father...

Me: Pappa, why would we place foods in the altar?

Pappa:(looking hard up in answering my question) The souls of our departed loved ones will eat food during this time...

Me: Oh, how would they eat foods when they are already dead?

Pappa: My child, they have souls, they will not eat the food, like we do, but they will smell the aroma of the food that we are offering in the altar.

These are traditions the we have lost as time goes by. When my grandma died when I was 14 years old, traditional practices that we got from her gradually died a natural death.

When the All Souls Day come, lots of people visit to our place because our house in the province is just a stone's throw away from the cemetery. This is the day when people would flock and visit their dead loved ones, light a candle on their tombs and offer prayer.