All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day

We spent November 1 at the Cemetery. The GOOD part about today is ---yes, there actually IS a good part! --- there were only a few people around. Fewer cars, fewer people. We figured it was because the next day was a workday, and people didn't go home to the provinces. Ergo, it was a relatively OKAY day for all of us.

As usual, we played board games while at The Garden. We had Taboo this year. I also brought my laptop...just in case *wink *wink!

We did however, have the perfect excuse, er REASON, to leave early. We had to go to the St. Therese Shrine to check out what was happening and learn from it for the succeeding years.

I did this for the Shrine in time for November 1 and 2:

Not sure if you can read it, but it simply states the proper rules for visiting a Columbarium. :)

Additionally, Gelo asked me to write an article for the Office Newsletter. Here's the text of my article.....can you tell that I was the one who wrote it? Hehehehehe.

The Columbarium: A Depository, Not A Cemetery

The concept of a Columbarium is relatively new in Filipino culture. It is only in recent years that we, as a people, have accepted the concept of cremation as an option to bury our dead. The notion of a Columbarium may also be a foreign topic, one which we must be enlightened on, given the fact that buildings of this type have increased in number.

A Columbarium is a building designed specifically to house cremated remains of the dead. These cremains are stored in an appropriate container within the Columbarium. Rights to the niches, or vaults, are purchased by the family of the deceased for the specific placement of the urns containing the ashes of their loved one.

As such, a Columbarium is merely a DEPOSITORY for the cremains of the dead. It is a place to leave our departed loved ones; a place where we can visit them at our convenience; a place of prayer.

Conversely, a Columbarium is NOT a cemetery. It is not a place to pitch tents; it is not a place to hold an overnight vigil. It is not the proper place to eat and drink, nor have loud and deafening music. It is not the place to have fast food vendors or have enterprising people hawk their wares.

We go to the Columbarium to pay respect to our departed loved ones. We pray for the salvation of their souls. A Columbarium is a place of peace, of solemnity, of prayer.

TTFN!