Happy Halloween!

When I was a kid, I was told about those people who goes tonight; they will go from house to house.  This is called 'pangangaluluwa.'  From house to house, they will sing songs that are meant to pray for our loved ones who already passed away.  But I never got to meet people like them when I was young.  I don't really know already how old that tradition was but my lolo used to tell me about it.  He said that the songs were never meant to be fun like Christmas carols because it's supposed to be odes for the souls.  In return, these people get to have something from the house.  I think it's probably the same as what carolers get when they sing their Christmas carols.

Still when I was young, the week before All Saints' Day was the time for ghost stories and scary movies.  And tonight is the last day for those stories.  In some other places, they go 'trick or treatin' which I don't know about growing up.  I heard about it when I was college, but that's just about it.

Where I grew up, it's all about getting ready for tomorrow.  The tombs of my lolos and lolas (and the rest of them relatives) are cleaned by this time and what we will need to make sagobe tomorrow are complete.  And a sagobe of that time will not be complete without langka.  And I don't know if it's just me, but I have observed that sagobe is the popular merienda during All Saints' Day.  The sagobe will be our merienda when we got home from the cemetery.  Is sagobe also a part of your merienda on All Saints' Day?

Anyway.

These days, there are Halloween parties.  There are trick or treats in more town that I have ever known and there will be more people going to bars that hosts halloween specials.