UNDAS or “day of the dead” caught me off-guard … I found it to be somewhat of a “carnival” atmosphere at the cemetery … I mean you could buy pizza next to one grave stone and then six (6) grave stones to your right you could get a coke … the locals told me this is the “family reunion” and once I had a good think about it, it sort of made sense … anyways, I loved the culture of it all … I went to Manila Memorial, and it was packed, had to be 2,000 to 3,000 people out there … a must see if you are in the Philippines …

A bit more on UNDAS … In the Philippines, the holiday is called Araw ng mga Patay (Day of the Dead), Todos Los Santos or Undas (the latter two due to the fact that this holiday is celebrated on November 1, All Saints Day), and has more of a “family reunion” atmosphere … tombs are cleaned or repainted, candles are lit, and flowers are offered … entire families camp in cemeteries, and sometimes spend a night or two near their relatives’ tombs … card games, eating, drinking, singing and dancing are common activities in the cemetery .. it is considered a very important holiday by many Filipinos (after Christmas and Holy Week), and additional days are normally given as special non-working holidays …