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Why can't you bring home food from a funeral?

Don't Bring Food Home From the Wake Leaving food at the wake helps the deceased stay well-fed in the afterlife. So, mourners who bring take-home food from the wake will either bring bad luck with them or be followed home by the dead.

flowerpatchdelivery.com - 40 Filipino Superstitions during Funerals and Wakes

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If you’ve attended a funeral or wake in the Philippines, you’ve probably come across at least one related Filipino superstition. These customs are an interesting way for many Filipinos to show respect during these solemn times. Some people follow them merely out of tradition, while others genuinely want to avoid bringing more misfortune onto the bereaved family. You’ll be surprised at the sheer number of superstitions Filipinos have for these occasions, though! Here’s a list of 40 Filipino superstitions to keep in mind during funerals and wakes.

40 Filipino Superstitions during Funerals and Wakes

Funeral Superstitions for General Visitors

1. Avoid Wearing Red Clothes and Bright Colors

Red drives away the spirits of the deceased–not what you’d want to do when you’re paying respects! Save the bright colors for happier occasions. Wear black instead as a sign of mourning.

2. …But Dress Children in Red

Ever heard accounts of children playing with dead relatives, getting nightmares, or mysteriously falling ill during wakes? Dress children in red to avoid such incidents.

3. Keep Falling Tears Off the Casket

Tears on the casket’s glass plate might give the dead a hard time crossing over to the next world. It’s advisable for visitors to bring handkerchiefs to dry their tears.

4. Don’t Bring Food Home From the Wake

Leaving food at the wake helps the deceased stay well-fed in the afterlife. So, mourners who bring take-home food from the wake will either bring bad luck with them or be followed home by the dead.

5. …But Eat All You Can

Did the deceased die at an old age? Feel free to eat to your heart’s content at the wake. It’s believed that you’ll also get the same luck of living into your old age.

6. No Viewing for Pregnant Women

Expectant mothers shouldn’t look inside the coffin. Doing so will give them a difficult delivery and can bring either bad luck or death onto the unborn child.

7. Visit Only One Wake in a Day

Mourners should not visit two wakes in the same day. Otherwise, they might die next or cause one of their family members to die.

8. Don’t Go Straight Home After the Wake

Visit a mall, sari-sari store, or a gas station before heading home from a funeral or wake. This prevents the dead from following you to your house. The Filipino term for this superstition is pagpag. DID YOU KNOW? There’s a Filipino horror movie named after this practice. The movie Pagpag: Siyam na Buhay follows the consequences of several guests who attend a wake but fail to follow superstitions.

9. Don’t Go if You’re On Your Period

Ladies going through that time of the month should refrain from attending funerals or visiting wakes. A girl who violates this Filipino superstition may have foul-smelling menses month after month.

10. Throw Coins in Front of the Funeral Car

People who happen to pass by a funeral march should throw coins under the hearse. This Filipino superstition provides the dead with fare money or toll money for the afterlife.

11. Don’t Look Back During the Procession

Mourners should not return to the house or even look back at it when the funeral procession starts. Otherwise, you’ll bring both bad luck and more deaths on the family.

12. Step Over Burning Grass Before Going Home

Mourners should walk over burning grass or guava leaves before going home from the burial site to prevent spirits of the dead from following them home. Cigarettes can also be lit using this fire.

13. Handle With Care

Those who carry the casket should prevent bumping it on anything when bringing it outside. This is done to prevent additional deaths. Sneezing at a wake invites the deceased to drop by your house by a visit. Retract your invitation by having someone pinch you.

Funeral Superstitions for Family Members

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15. Cover All Mirrors With Cloth

This Filipino superstition stems from the thought that the dead may try to show themselves in mirrors. Aside from covering mirrors, people should avoid looking at their own reflections.

16. Whisper Your Wishes

It’s believed that the deceased can carry your wishes to heaven. So, family members can whisper their wishes into the ear of someone who has recently died. This Filipino superstition is fittingly called bulong.

17. Don’t Sweep the Floor

If relatives sweep the floor, it can be interpreted as banishing the spirit of the dead from the house. It may also result in other family members following the dead into the afterlife. Family members can pick trash up and wipe the floor with a wet cloth instead.

18. Don’t Shower or Comb Your Hair

…at least in the place where the funeral is being held. Otherwise, you’ll bring bad luck on the family, sometimes in the form of consequent deaths. If you’d like to take a shower, you may do so in another house.

19. Let Visitors Leave By Themselves

Family members of the deceased should not accompany mourners who are leaving the house. The visitor can simply go their own way. A family member who violates this Filipino superstition may be the next one to die.

20. Don’t Thank Visitors for Condolences

Otherwise, it’s as if you’re thankful that your loved one has died.

21. Place Cash in the Hands of the Dead

The money serves as the deceased’s fare in the afterlife. Before the funeral, though, family members can take the money back as a lucky charm. DID YOU KNOW? It’s said that if you use this lucky money as capital for a new business, you’ll meet success. You can also have good luck even if you simply keep the money instead.

22. Don’t Touch the Contributions

According to this blend of Filipino superstition and etiquette, all monetary contributions for the dead should only go to funeral expenses. If anyone tries to spend the money on anything else, they’ll be haunted by the deceased.

23. Keep Altar Candles Continuously Lit

If the candles go out, the departed might get lost or have a hard time on their journey in the afterlife. New candles should be lit up before old ones are blown out.

24. Have One Family Member Refrain from Viewing

Not all the members of the bereaved should look at the face of the dead person. Otherwise, the deceased will visit all of them, and the whole family will die.

25. Keep Vigil

At least one person should stay awake to keep evil spirits or aswang from stealing the dead body. This Filipino superstition is why bingo, mahjong, and card games are popular during funerals. Pot money from these games goes to the family to help with funeral expenses. DID YOU KNOW? In Filipino folklore, aswang who have successfully stolen a corpse will leave a banana trunk as a “replacement” in the coffin.

26. No Malunggay Dishes

The superstition of avoiding malunggay dishes comes from the Ilocos region. Malunggay is prepared by stripping leaves off one by one, symbolizing the relatives of the deceased dying one after the other.

27. Postpone Serving Pancit

Don’t serve pancit at a wake or else you’ll extend the mourning period. Instead, eat pancit after a wake so that the bereaved family members will live longer lives.

28. Break a Plate

Family members may smash a plate to break the cycle of death. Ilocano mourners also break ceramic plates as an offering to the dead.

29. Predict the Future by Throwing a Pot

In provinces, relatives of the deceased will throw a clay pot on sand or soft soil. If the pot doesn’t break, it means there’ll be another death in the family soon.

30. Pass Under the Casket

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Relatives should pass under the casket as it leaves the house. This will help them resume life more easily after the funeral. It also prevents more deaths in the family. DID YOU KNOW? Children should also step over the casket before it is placed in the tomb. This buries the children’s illnesses with the dead and prevents the kids from being visited by ghosts at night.

31. Detours for Widows

As much as possible, a widow should not join the procession but take another route to her husband’s final resting place. This prevents her from following her husband into the afterlife.

32. Remove Curtains and Bedsheets Used During the Wake

Whether the wake was held in a house or in a funeral home, all used sheets should be washed to remove accumulated negative energy and bad luck.

33. Wear Black for a Year

Widows and other family members should wear black for a year as a sign of mourning. They may only wear colored clothes again after the first death anniversary.

34. Wash With Guava Leaves

Relatives who’ve come from a wake should wash hands in cold water with guava leaves before stepping into their houses. This washes bad luck away so that they don’t take it with them.

Funeral Superstitions Concerning the Deceased

35. Shoes Off

It’s believed that the dead can freely walk around the house. Placing the dead body in the casket without shoes will prevent family members from hearing footsteps in the halls at night.

36. Place Bolos and Broken Rosaries in the Casket

A rosary is often placed in the hand of the deceased to guide them on their afterlife journey. A bolo may also be placed in the casket. These two items both break curses. DID YOU KNOW? The rosary used here should be torn to prevent consequent deaths in the family.

37. Check the Hands of the Deceased

If the empty hands of the deceased are clenched into fists, the family will have monetary troubles. If the hands are open, they can expect smooth sailing.

38. Death By Murder? Place Chicks on the Coffin

Relatives may also place rice grains on the coffin. Whenever the chicks peck at the grains, the murderer’s conscience will be eaten away, too. This can ultimately bring the murderer to justice.

39. Place the Dead with Their Feet Toward the Door

This Filipino superstition makes it easy for the soul of the deceased to enter the next world. Curiously, the casket should be carried out head first later on so that the spirit won’t come back to haunt anyone.

40. Bury the Flowers

All flowers used in the wake should be placed in tomb together with the dead. If anyone takes a single flower from the wake, there will be succeeding deaths. DID YOU KNOW? There are also casket decorations that should be removed instead of buried. For one, ribbons on the coffin with family members’ names on them must be removed and kept. Remember these Filipino superstitions for funerals and wakes, and you can express your sympathies while staying in good graces. Don’t forget to bring some lovely funeral flowers as a thoughtful gesture! Can’t personally visit a florist to buy sympathy flowers? Fortunately, you can place a flower delivery instead. At Flower Patch, we’ll gladly bring your ordered funeral flower arrangement to you for free if you’re attending a wake or funeral in Metro Manila. Contact us today to find out more! Looking for advice on popular flowers and gift ideas for all occasions? Check out the helpful articles posted on our blog.

flowerpatchdelivery.com - 40 Filipino Superstitions during Funerals and Wakes

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