Dela Peña, Angel Faith E.

II-B PSYCH

OUR FAMILY’S AND PROVINCE’S CUSTOM

A. My family’s and province’s custom

1. My family actively participated in the Stations of the Cross, a practice that we did
when we were still in our province. It is a tradition in our province that all the people
that are active in our province's Catholic church are invited. Every Good Friday,
the active participants will prepare a small altar outside their house. The prepared
altar is called the station where the group will pray in front of it. But, before that,
we will finish the mass first, and then we will gather outside the church. We will
bring lit candles with us or a saint statue. The priest will pray to the saint statue,
and then we will begin to walk and go to the stations while praying all of the
prayers. The group will stop at each station and will pray in front of it.

● I would like to continue this practice with my future family, because it helps to
strengthen our faith by establishing a close relationship with God, and I would like
my future family to have strong faith and relationship with God so that they become
spiritually strong.

2. My family actively and consistently does this practice, because this is our way to
show respect and importance to relatives who have already passed away. When the
death anniversary or birthday of our relative comes, we always go to church and
give an offering (usually money that we put in an envelope with a label saying that
we wish to the priest to pray for our relative's soul). After the mass, we will put
food offerings and lit candles on the altar and we will pray for the soul of our certain
relative who died.

● I would like to continue doing this practice because it shows continuing our love to
our certain relatives who died. It shows that even though they are not physically
with us, we still have a connection by remembering them and praying for their
souls.

B. My partner’s family’s and province's customs (Angeley Cabalitan)

1. On Angeley’s mother’s side of their family, it is a must for all of them to celebrate
the birthday of a passed love one at the cemetery. And even if it's not the birthday
of that loved one of them, they would still frequently pay a visit to their loved ones
and have they lunch there every time they went home to their province. One
example is with her grandmother, Nanay Concepcion, every time it's her
grandmother’s birthday or death anniversary, they would go to her cemetery and
 have a picnic there full of her grandmother’s favorite foods like pancit bihon and
lumpiang togue. While eating, they would gather around with one of their cousins
playing a guitar and they would start singing, “Kahit maputi na ang buhok ko” since
this was the song that Angeley’s grandparents loved to dance with through the years
and it was also the song that her grandparents danced to during their Golden
wedding.

● Angeley’s loved this tradition and would willingly do this in the future with her
children. Because based on her, being able to visit a passed loved one and celebrate
an event with them is like reliving those special and memorable moments we spent
before and that is quite sentimental.

2. On Angeley’s father’s side of the family, her relatives would host an event in
celebration of a fiesta in their province, Eastern Samar. Based on her, most events
they hold are to raise funds for their projects to build or renovate institutions in their
province, Putong. And to help raise the funds, their people would dance Kuratsa, a
Philippine Folk Dance that originated in Leyte and Samar province that is referred
to as a courtship dance where dancers imitate courtship movements of rooster and
a hen in a creative way. This performance consists of one male and one female to
dance around a big metal plate while throwing money around.

● Angeley would also like to introduce this tradition to her future family, because
based on her, although a Kuratsa event is not her scene growing up, it is quite a
meaningful and awe-inspiring way for her family to help their province strive and
develop.