List: 6 Filipino pamahiins we just can’t ignore

MANILA, Philippines – When it comes to superstition and beliefs (that don’t always make sense, but we follow them anyway), Filipinos definitely rank high. As most of the Philippines winds down to spend the undas weekend with loved ones – including those who’ve gone before them – we take a look at the pamahiins many in the archipelago stick to. 

1. You can’t go straight home after a wake. Known as “pagpag,” (literally, to shake off dust or dirt) is when you make it a point to drop by some place else after visiting a wake. The typical “victims” aka pagpag venues? Your favorite convenience store, of course. Pagpag is done, or so the belief goes, so that death doesn’t follow you home. 

2. No brooms allowed. Some Filipinos believe it’s improper to sweep the floor of a wake. It’s believed sweeping means you also sweep the spirit of the dead away from the house.

3. One must first pass. Before a casket is finally closed, young children are asked to pass under the raised casket. The is done supposedly so the dead don’t visit the young. It is also believed that doing this will “bury” the sickness of the kids with the dead.

4. This ain’t it, pancit. Some Filipinos believe that serving pancit during a wake prolongs the mourning period. However, all’s good to serve it after the wake because it symbolizes – and imparts on surviving relatives – a long life.

5. Hygiene? Some don’t comb their hair or take a bath in the same place where the casket is laid because it’s believed that it’ll cause that person’s death. You are, however, still free to clean up in another house.

6. Rosary break. This one sounds odd – sacrilegious, even – but it’s customary for some Catholics to wrap a broken rosary around the dead of the deacesed. It’s believed that the broken rosary means stops death from claiming other members of the family. 

Which beliefs or superstitions do you follow? — Rappler.com