All Saints Day 2011

As always, hundreds, if not thousands, of our fellow San Pableños went to the cemetery to visit their dead loved ones yesterday, November 1, 2011. This year's All Saints Day was not very different from previous years. Traffic was still bad and tricycle drivers were still taking advantage of the occasion by charging passengers higher fares.

M. Leonor Street was still lined with vendors on both sides and it went all the way to the cemetery. Also, carnivals with rides and games were still present on M. Leonor Street and in-front of the cemetery. Of course, the police together with various volunteer groups were also there to assist those who needed assistance.

Our Governor even had a booth that gave away bottled drinking waters for free which, I'm sure, affected the income of those who were selling bottled drinking waters on the cemetery that day. Seriously, why would anyone buy a bottled drinking water when they can get one for free? By the way, those free bottled drinking waters had the face of the Governor and his wife on them.

Artificial flowers are also becoming more popular this year because we saw a lot of them in the cemetery. Fresh flowers are nice but they can be expensive while artificial flowers are very cheap and can even last longer than fresh flowers. It's a nice alternative specially if you are tight on cash.

Overall, our All Saints Day experience this year was very peaceful. It was raining that day and, because of that, there weren't that many people. We also didn't stay long in the cemetery. We simply lit a couple of candles, said our respects and went home.