Today is All Saints Day. As has been the yearly tradition for many decades, people from all over the country will again flock to cemeteries to pay homage to their departed ones. People spend the day visiting the graves of their dead, offer prayers, lay flowers and light candles.
Our law enforcement agencies must be put on heightened alert. After the Glorietta, Makati incident, people are still jittery and we just cannot discount the possibility of terrorists and other criminal elements trying to take advantage of the still unstable situation. The police must increase their visibility, especially in crowded areas, to deter these unscrupulous elements from carrying out their evil activities. Actually, as early as last week, the Philippine National Police, in coordination with local governments and civilian volunteer organizations, have already been making preparations to ensure a peaceful and orderly observance of the occasion. Many people will surely take advantage of the long Halloween weekend to go home to the provinces. Major gateways to the north and south of Luzon, bus and shipping terminals where large crowds are expected to gather, must also be fully secured to prevent any untoward incident from happening.
All Saints Day is the modern name of what was formerly known in olden times as “All Hallows Day.” “Hallows” was a word that referred to the saints, they were the “hallowed ones.” It is actually a feast to honor all saints, particularly the ones who have not had a special day in the church calendar. The first All Saints Day occurred on May 13, 609 (C.E.) when Pope Boniface IV accepted the Pantheon as a gift from the Emperor Phocas. Boniface dedicated it as the Church of Santa Maria Rotonda in honor of the Blessed Virgin and all martyrs. During Pope Gregory III’s reign, the festival was expanded to include all saints and a chapel in St. Peter’s Church was dedicated accordingly. In the year 835 AD, the Roman Catholic Church made November 1st a church holiday to honor all the saints, known and unknown, and according to Pope Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful’s celebration of saints’ feasts during the year.
The observance of All Saints Day was originally intended to be a religious event. But as time passed, its solemnity and true meaning has slowly been eroded. Now, people treat it as a holiday; an opportunity to take a vacation, have fun and be merry. In present times, many people are more pre-occupied with amassing material wealth. They are unwittingly living for only one purpose — to be the richest man in the cemetery. November 1 is an annual reminder that the cemetery is everyone’s final destination and that the grave is what they will ultimately end up owning.