Why November 2 Should Be Declared A Holiday?
I stumbled upon this post on my Twitter (X) feed today and it seems interesting.
The Question?
Why November 2 Should Be Declared A Holiday?
The Premise:
- November 1st is All Saints Day. A day to commemorate all the saints. November 2nd is All Souls Day. The All Souls Day is more appropriate to commemorate the souls of the departed. It is their day.
- November 1st, cemeterygoers hoped their loved ones were already saints. While there is a good motive in hoping that our loved ones were already saved and are enjoying God’s company. Still, the default catholic piety is for us to pray for them. The reason why we pray for the dead is for them to be admitted into heavenly glory. If we consider our dead as saints already, then we do not have
to do that. - Much of Visayas and Mindanao, and some parts of Luzon, have long observed November 2nd as the day for visiting the dead.
- The season is a busy day, a sort of mini family reunion or clan gathering. Since everyone is tired, it will be of great convenience for Nov 1st cemetery goers to know that the next day will be a day for them to have enough rest or enough time to travel back home or to work.
The President of the Philippines has the power to issue or declare through a proclamation, the lists of regular holidays and non-working days in the Philippines.
November 2 is usually declared by the President as a special non-working day.
To make November 2 as a permanent regular holiday, a law must be passed by the Congress of the Philippines to that effect.
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