Kalag-Kalag in my Mind

Trick or treat…give me something good to eat… It is a fun day for children and the young at heart. This is the only day that I allow my kids to gorge on candy, taffy, chocolates, candy corn and many more. I use to spend a lot of time and money on this event. This year only my dog went out trick-or-treating. My son decided that he is already too old for this stuff and ask me not to spend a single cent on costumes. I joke them that I would dress up as Nacho Libre and 3 of them as the children of Hogwarts. I got a very big NOOOO. I was wondering what ever happened to the playful childhood innocence??? My kids decided to do away with it… but I haven’t. Probably midlife crisis? It would have been fun to look at Myrna as the trampy fireman, trampy police or a trampy waitress. Hehehe nice to be creative...I don’t think she would even think of being trampy not even in Halloween !!!.

In Cebu we celebrate it as kalag-kalag. We do have Halloween parties on the street but no trick-or-treating. Probably the affluent neighborhoods in Cebu celebrate it western style but for me kalag-kalag is the best way to celebrate it. There is nothing compared to the thousands of people in the cemetery and the brilliant lights and heat generated from the burning candles. Biko, budbud and other native delicacies would surely make this day to look forward to. I remember that Mother would always ask me to go to the public market to buy coconuts for making the sweet biko. Our candles are bought all the way from the Chinese stores in Opon or Carbon. We need to visit the tombs of all of our dead relatives and it is like going to maze going from one place to another. With thousands of people in the cemetery there is a big chance that you will get lost.

I was thinking all of this stuff while trick-or-treating with Jake (my dog). I wonder if my children would experience the fun that I use to have in the Philippines. Maybe someday they will and I hope they will think of it as fun and think of Halloween in a more religious and reflective way.