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Time not only moves on, as we said last week in the aftermath, recovery and rehabilitation following the disasters that ?Ondoy and ?Pepeng? wreaked on our central and northern Luzon fellow citizens, it also brings along with it, changes.
Tomorrow is the last day of this memorable month of October, and Sunday, we start on the eleventh ?_ber? month of the year: November. Sunday's ?All Saints? Day? and ?All Soul?s Day? on Monday provide the transition between these last two months of the year.
Time was, in Cebu, when during the hollowed/holy eve/evening/e'en or Holloween, the evening before All Saints? Day, people would already be trooping to the cemeteries to visit the graves and tombs of their departed dear ones, to refurbish these with lights, candles and flowers, hold vigil there with prayers and cherished memories of their departed. They still do that now, but with modern touches of family parties and music, that must stir the peaceful rest of those who have gone ahead. Who knows what other new development will turn up tomorrow?
On the other hand, our children and young sophisticates will be ?trick-or-treat?-ing and/or Halloween party-ing with masks, getups of witches, vampires, and weirdos to mod music.
I was in the States over a couple of years ago during Halloween when we grown-ups drove out with my grandchildren for ?trick or treat? around the neighborhood, where houses were decked out in lights and grinning jack-o-lanterns of pumpkins on their lawns. My daughter-in-law had already prepared jars of assorted candies to give away as treats to those who would come to the doorstep. This same modernization of Christmas celebrations, like Halloween, we may also expect in December.
Meanwhile, back to this extended weekend, most of us will also be attending Masses in our churches, honoring and invoking the saints, and praying for the souls of our dearly departed.
On the subject of faith, it is heartening to know that the Vatican now aims to reintegrate traditionalists who have broken away from the Catholic faith, with talks starting Monday, with officials from the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The aim is to overcome deep theological differences which have prompted some groups to split from Rome following the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
The month of November will have two long weekends, the first starting tomorrow, Saturday, then Sunday, All Saints' Day, and Monday, All Souls' Day, a special non-working holiday, together with All Saints? Day when it falls on a weekday.
The next long weekend will be next week, from Friday the 27th through Monday, the 30th November 27th and 28th have been declared non-working holidays in observance of Eid'l Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, held by Muslims after the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. While the 30th, Monday, is a regular non-working holiday to commemorate Bonifacio Day.
Classes in public schools and some private schools resume next week. Tuesday, November 3rd at the earliest. However, in disaster areas, problems on availability of schoolhouses, books and equipment will probably cause much delay.
Otherwise, elsewhere in the country, problems continue to haunt the educational system, not just in equipment and schoolrooms, but also, and primarily, in funding for all the physical needs and services.
It is along this line that Zonta Club of Cebu I has taken a particular concern. Our Daycare Project in Budlaan and our periodic Feeding Project at Ermita, are primarily for the benefit of poor and needy schoolchildren in those areas. In or current Adopt-a-School Project, the beneficiary is the Carlos Gothong Elementary School, one of the schools the DepEd has held up for the Adopt-a-School Program.
To raise funds for the Adopt-a-School project, Zonta I is celebrating our Ruby Anniversary with a ?Glamour and Glitz? Dinner-Fashion Show with Entertainment on Nov. 8 at 6:30 pm at the Marco Polo Hotel. Tickets at P1,500 are still available from any Zonta I member and at the entry to the affair at Marco Polo. Do help a worthy cause and have a good time!
Reports on our latest Cebu Girl Scout meetings; that glamorous, but scaled-down Korina-Mar wedding to help disaster victims, and the current pre-election year developments will hold for next week. Till then, as always, may God continue to bless us all!
