Remembering the dead... Celebrating Life.

In the Philippines, All Saint’s Day (including All Soul’s Day) is considered a very important holiday by many Filipinos, probably next to Christmas and Holy Week. Celebrated on the 1st of November, All Saint’s Day, “Undas” or “Todos Los Santos” in the vernacular, has become more of a family reunion to commemorate the dead.

It is the time of the year when tombs are cleaned and painted, candles lit and flowers are offered and families flocked in cemeteries to spend the day or night with their departed loved ones.



Donna and I were among the thousands of people who trooped to the cemetery last November 1. We went to her father’s tomb (her father, brother and grandparents are buried in the same tomb) at the Manila South Cemetery in Makati City. We initially planned to go to the cemetery on the 31st but because of the threat of a super typhoon hovering in the country, we decided to go the next day instead.

I haven’t seen so many deaths in my age. I have been to funerals of my grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins, distant relatives and friends but never within my immediate family; which is something that I am thankful for. Although, I understand that death is a fact of life. We have to thank and relish every minute that we spend with our loved ones.


The last couple of days has afforded me the chance not just to remember the dead but to celebrate life and it also prompted me to reflect on what it means to live in this world. The truth is no one will live forever. The time will come when our friends and loved ones will remember us during All Soul’s Day or they will visit us in our tombs.

Although we avoid thinking about it, the fact that we know our time will come should teach us how to fully live our lives. Recognizing that we have limited time in this world, we should be prompted to care more for this world and for the people around us. We should start managing our lives and try to live a happy and meaningful life.


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Infant travel bed.

Since Christmas is fast-approaching, I am now thinking of gifts for my niece and nephews and even for my godchildren. This is the reason why children are eagerly awaiting for this season. It is this time of the year when they receive gifts from their parents and relatives. It is also the time when they see the world around them in festive mood with the Christmas trees and holiday decorations. We can never tell how much fun and joy this religious tradition brings to small children.

Included in my list are gifts for two infants. Since they will not be able to provide their wish list, it will be up to me to decide on what gifts to give for these cute little infants. I’ve already decided to give them something that will really be useful.

While browsing, I recently saw an infant travel bed that can be used for safe travelling babies. It can be very useful for babies to give them a comfortable and safe place to sleep while travelling. The infant travel bed has a collapsible frame that is perfect for a nap on the go with diaper changing comfort. It’s attractive and lightweight for a compact travel with a carry strap.

I think that this will be very useful to babies and it would give a lot of comfort to babies and parents. As my girlfriend Donna said about this infant travel bed, babies can now travel in style!



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Salamat.

Salamat. This seven-letter word is the Filipino equivalent of “Thanks” or “Thank You” in the English language. It was said that the word was derived from an Arabic word which is the plural of “salam” which roughly means hello, or “Shalom” which means “Peace.” It is commonly used as a greeting when people meet after a long time.

For Filipinos, the word is used to express appreciation for something that was given or an act of kindness. The word “Salamat” is only a three-syllable word but it really means a lot. How many times have you been given a gift or even just a word of encouragement and you failed to express your gratitude graciously? How many times have you given a gift or a favor to someone that wasn’t appreciated?

The impetus for writing this piece was a driver of an FX taxi that I rode this morning on my way to the office. He wasn’t the fastest or the smartest driver out there but what struck me and what made riding his taxi special was when he said “Salamat” when I went out of his vehicle. I smiled and muttered the same word to him. You see, giving thanks can be infectious. How many taxis or jeepney drivers are doing what this driver is doing? It may not be a big deal for some but at that time it also made me appreciate the blessings that are coming my way. The fact that I reached the office safely is something to be thankful for and the truth that I still have a job waiting for me is indeed worthy of appreciation. We also had a good sunny weather which is a welcome development after about 2 or 3 consecutive typhoons wreaking havoc in the country. Certainly, all of us have something to thank for. Not to mention that this simple act of appreciation, attracts good vibration. The taxi driver may not know it but he just made my day.

When people are going through tough times and we can see suffering around us we forget to appreciate our blessings, we are blinded by our own disappointments and difficulties that we start to focus and dwell on the negative things and our own misery. We forget to appreciate small good things that are happening in our lives and give thanks to these blessings.

We are often self-centered that we only see the big things in life and we tend to ignore small but very important things that we are enjoying. We complain of not being able to buy a new pair of shoes when there are people who can’t even walk because they don’t have feet. We complain that the temperature is too hot in our own rooms when there are people who have lost their houses because of the typhoon. We complain about a lot of things but we forgot to be thankful for all our blessings. We fret about how our friends have treated us unfairly but we fail to be thankful for the grace of friends with whom we can depend on in times of sorrow and grief.

It is not hard to say “thank you” or “Salamat.” In fact, I sometimes feel that these words are overused, like auto-programmed words that are just quickly and carelessly spoken by anyone without really meaning it. But no matter how shallow or empty our words, it feels good for the person giving to know that the gift or the favor was enjoyed by the person receiving it. It is in itself a gift to be able to say a genuine “thank you” to God and to others who have touched our lives.

Let me borrow a verse from the Bible: “In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)

“Maraming Salamat!” (Thank you very much!)

Photo credit.

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Top EC Droppers for the month of October 2009

Here are the top Entrecard droppers for October. I also would like to thank those who are not on the list but kept on dropping their EC’s here. If you have a minute, please visit each of these blogs.

Thank you very much!



Bible Examples

Ungkutan

Fledgling Blogger

Pure Natural Diva

atenean101 @ Blogspot

Melissas Homeschool

easy

Jean sQuared

The Cooling Stream

My Meme Mania



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Buying gifts for kids.

Christmas is just around the corner with only about 50 days before the Christmas Eve. No wonder why my nieces and nephews are now wearing glowing smiles whenever I see them. They are unusually caring and thoughtful knowing that their behaviors will have a big impact on the amount of gifts that they will receive for Christmas. Well, let’s give it to them. Christmas is for kids, anyway. Beyond the religious tradition is the joy and fun that this season brings to children. It is this time of the year when they receive gifts from their parents and relatives. It is also the time when they see the world around them in festive mood with the Christmas trees and holiday decorations.

However, my yearly dilemma especially when the season approaches is on what gifts to buy for my nephews, nieces and my godchildren. With new toys and gadgets being released everyday, buying the best gifts for kids is not an easy task for me.

It’s a good thing that I now have the internet to assist me on this arduous task of shopping. If you know where to look for, you can now find anything and everything for sale online. With a click of a mouse, I can search for toys and games available online. There are also activity sets that the kids will surely love. I also found children’s books that can be enjoyed by my nieces. What I like about this revolutionary shopping website is it also provides guides for buying products for kids and even for babies and toddlers.

As fun as Christmas is for kids, it’s equally important for the grown-ups to be in the spirit. Besides, this holiday is meant not only for children but for the entire family.



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No November 27 and 28 holidays in Metro Manila.

Last month, I posted on this blog that Filipinos will have more time to spend with their families for the month of November after President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo declared five days as national holidays for this month.

Well, that was last month. It turns out that the President has signed another proclamation, Proclamation No. 1808-A on October 26, amending the earlier Proclamation No. 1808 which was issued on April 21, 2009, which declared November 27 and 28 as national holidays in celebration of Eid'l Adha, which is one of the two great feasts of Islam.

Based on the proclamation, the holidays will still be observed but only in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). This means that the pay rules for regular holidays during the said dates will only apply in the ARMM region.

This decision is in response to appeals from the country’s business and manufacturing sectors who are still recovering after their production has been severely affected by the recent storms.

By virtue of this proclamation, there will only be three holidays nationwide this November which was declared under earlier Proclamation No. 1699. These are: All Saints Day, which is a special non-working day on November 1; the additional special non-working day on November 2, and the regular holiday in celebration of Bonifacio Day on November 30, 2009.


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Music Monday - MYX Daily Top 10 (November 2, 2009) Featuring Rico Blanco’s “Bangon”

Top Ten

10. Rico Blanco - Bangon
09. Jay Sean f/ Lil Wayne - Down
08. Selena Gomez & The Scene - Falling Down
07. Tokio Hotel - Automatic
06. 6Cyclemind f/ Gloc-9 & Wendell Garcia - Kasalanan

05. Christian Bautista - Tell Me Your Name
04. Super Junior - It's You
03. Girls Generation - Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)
02. Miley Cyrus - Party In The USA
01. Justin Bieber - One Time

Come join Music Monday and share your songs with us. One simple rule, leave ONLY the actual post link here. You can grab this code at LJL Please note these links are STRICTLY for Music Monday participants only. All others will be deleted without prejudice.




PS: Because of spamming purposes, the linky will be closed on Thursday of each week at midnight, Malaysian Time. Thank you!



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