Undas, Todos Los Santos, Tigkalalag, All Souls Day, Day of the Dead - a deeply rooted Filipino tradition

An infrared photograph of a memorial park in the Philippines. Flickr/Jep It's that time of the year again when Filipinos all over the country return to their hometowns to visit and pay respect to their departed family and friends. It is a day of remembrance, a day for visiting grave sites, laying down flowers, offering prayers, and lighting candles. In my childhood, my aunts and uncles on my father's side, being of Chinese ancestry, would also have the tradition of offering food and lighting incense on family altars at home.  This time of the ye…