Kids

Halloween in the Philippines: How Folklore Can Spice It Up in 2022

by Kevyn Gohu
September 28, 2022

Here’s how the folklore in the Philippines can spice up our Halloween celebrations.

In the Philippines, we celebrate Halloween with the typical pumpkins, witches, skeletons, and zombies. But wouldn’t it be interesting if we celebrated Halloween with the aswang and creatures of Philippine mythology? We have a ton of horror movies about White Ladies, Black Ladies, and a variety of other creatures. Here are some interesting pegs from Philippine folklore to spice up our Halloween celebrations:

Legend of the Bakunawa

Game of Thrones recently released their prequel: House of Dragons and kids just love dragons. But did you know that the Philippines has its own dragon known as the Bakunawa? It’s a pretty scary creature considering it’s known to eat moons. Maybe the kids can paint pictures on a banner or make the Philippine dragon out of clay to celebrate Halloween.

The Aswang

It’s so easy to put on a superhero suit, princess, witch, or zombie costume. But, if there’s a costume competition then we’d love to go all out. Time to tap into Philippine folklore because there are so many creatures like the manananggal, tikbalang, and even the kapre to bag that gold. Drag Race Philippines even opened the challenge to their queens to channel their inner knowledge of Philippine Folklore and drag queen Viñas DeLuxe pulled off a manananggal, even creating the illusion she was split from her body!

Consider it a fun form of learning for two of the most boring subjects.

Back in school, history and literature were considered boring subjects. But that’s because we stared at walls of texts and memorized them without actually imagining them. The story of Lam-Ang or the epic of Princess Urduja can make a good costume. The Philippines has its own stories and epics of heroes and what better way to celebrate it than experiencing it this Halloween? The holiday gives us an acceptable excuse to go dressing up. Might as well go all out!

Take old college ghost stories and use them as a peg for Halloween.

One of the most fun traditions among college students for Halloween is to pass down the ghost stories of their universities. Ateneo has a famous ghost story about the ghostly turon that haunts the hallways of Bellarmine Hall. Some Atenean parents can celebrate by cooking some turon that day. La Salle’s chapel, the MBS Chapel or the Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament, served as a refuge for many civilians and soldiers during World War II. For that, maybe celebrate by having some war games in the garden.

Halloween in the Philippines is rich with stories and folklore!

It may take a little more effort to do the research and come up with costumes but it’d be a shame not to use the folklore that’s made the Philippines so well-known. Even other countries outside recognize that the Philippines has so many ideas and stories to tell! But instead of staring at walls of text, incorporating it into the Philippines’ 2022 Halloween celebrations will make it a night to remember.