Filipinos clean graves, pray, honor dead on All Saints’ Day

A man, bottom right, shields himself with an inverted umbrella as thousands of Filipinos throng to Manila's North Cemetery, under a slight downpour, to pay tribute to their departed loved ones in observance of All Saints Day Tuesday in Manila. (AP)

MANILA: Families bring flowers. Relatives seek out graves of departed soldiers. Tombs across the Philippines get cleaned up. And prayers — prayers with candles, silent prayers, group prayers, prayers for loved ones now gone — echo across the land.
On All Saints Day in the Philippines, the cemetery takes center stage — and not at all in the way Halloween does it. This is a time for remembrance and, for many, a time for contemplation.
From the preparations Monday to the celebrations Tuesday, here is a visual glimpse into All Saints Day in Asia’s most Catholic nation.