It was a cloudy and damp Saturday but As Matuis resident Doris Due\u00f1as and her family trooped early to the Chalan Kanoa cemetery to prepare the tomb of her father, Emilio Tudela Torres, for the upcoming observance of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.<\/p>\n
\u201cRain or shine, we\u2019re here every year to come and prepare his grave at least the weekend before Nov. 1 and 2,\u201d said Due\u00f1as. \u201cWe want him to be very happy, wherever he is, just by cleaning his grave.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Due\u00f1as family was among the several families seen at one of the island\u2019s public cemeteries over the weekend, putting in order their deceased loved ones\u2019 graves for the Catholic holiday that honors the departed. The CNMI being a predominantly Catholic community, it marks the occasion with the longstanding tradition of offering flowers, candles, and prayers as they visit their dead at various cemeteries.<\/p>\n
A young Garapan resident, who declined to be identified, said this annual tradition for their family is both religious and personal. <\/p>\n
\u201cEven though they\u2019re not here, their spirits remain here with us so we always make it a point to come and visit them especially during this occasion,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s our way of honoring them, their lives, and what they\u2019ve given us. We still remember, love, and care for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doris Due\u00f1as, who was joined by her husband Luis, and her children Luis Jr. and Lorenza during Saturday\u2019s preparations, emphasized the importance of getting the whole family involved, particularly her offspring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of the traditions that my children will be able to carry on when the time comes,\u201d she told Saipan Tribune. \u201cI want them to realize the importance of observing this tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fortunately, her children do, says Doris, as they have chosen to help her in the activity instead of spending their time doing other things. <\/p>\n
\u201cI care for my family more than other people,\u201d said Doris\u2019 daughter, Lorenza. \u201cEven though they\u2019ve already departed, I believe we should continue to care for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Teo resident Tanya Concepcion agrees, saying that this tradition has been passed on by the older generations and in turn, she is passing it on to her 11-year-old daughter, Trini Iguel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important that my daughter gets to know this tradition so when I\u2019m older and not able to come down here in the cemetery, she knows what to do and perhaps get other family members of her generation to do the same,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Besides her daughter, Concepcion was joined by her sisters, nephew, and other family members as they scrubbed clean the tombs of her father, Julian Attao Concepcion, and other kin who were laid to rest in the same burial site.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe dearly miss him and wish that he\u2019s still here,\u201d said the nostalgic Concepcion, referring to her father. \u201cMy prayer is that he really is up there in a peaceful place.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some 12 employees of the Saipan Mayor\u2019s Office were also at the CK public cemetery over the weekend, cleaning debris and trash that visitors have left behind. Field supervisor Ton Reyes, in an interview, said some equipment were dispatched and used at the cemetery about two to three weeks ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s also a tradition for us at the Mayor\u2019s Office to do this cleanup every year,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mount Carmel Parish Council member Jeff Camacho, for his part, said that while they try to do the cemetery cleanup before All Saints Day and All Souls Day, \u201cour goal is to do it every month for the entire year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are asking for more volunteers to come out and step up to the plate. We already have some volunteer groups but we still need more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Camacho said several JROTC units, including Kagman High School, Marianas High School, and Saipan Southern High School, have already assisted them since they started the cemetery cleanup on Sept. 17. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe appreciate that they\u2019ve put in their time to make our cemetery clean and we encourage others to do the same,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Camacho added that they also receive cash and in-kind donations to help the Parish Council and volunteers to do their task. To volunteer, donate or for more information, call 234-3000.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It was a cloudy and damp Saturday but As Matuis resident Doris Due\u00f1as and her family trooped early to the Chalan Kanoa cemetery to prepare the tomb of her father, Emilio Tudela Torres, for the upcoming observance of All Saints Day and All Souls Day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156257","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156257"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156257\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}