Grandparents (and Senior Citizens) Day has been a yearly tradition every first Sunday of September in the Philippines since 1987. This day was adopted from the Americans who started this tradition in 1973 when President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation.
The Filipinos celebrate this day in a rather simple and conservative manner.
Family gathering is held at lolo’s (grandfather) and lola’s (grandmother) house and serves as a family reunion. All children ask for lolo’s and lola’s hands, place them on their foreheads which is a common sign of respect and ask for their blessings. They are treated to songs, dance numbers, games and of course specially prepared foods. After dinner, everybody starts digging up old family albums which are handled with care as the black pages with wax paper inserts are too old. Everybody gathers around lola since she has a better memory of the names and lolo will always say “ask your lola “ or “go to lola”. This is a perfect venue to discover own roots and meet new members of the family. This is also a time to witness their wealth of knowledge and experiences and share these to all family members. This is a Day of Connecting, The Filipinos treat their grandparents as the founders of a loving legacy, the greatest story tellers, and keepers of family traditions.
To celebrate Grandparents day, the Filipino Ministry of Our Lady of Perpetual Help is hosting a free “Wonderful Night to Remember”, a Dinner-Dance on September 7, 6 p.m. at OLPH Parish Hall for Seniors. Pre-registration is required. Sign-ups are held after all masses at OLPH Church, located at Lyons and Orchard Village Road.
For more information, please call Mul Tayoba at 253-1825 or Malou Resella at 297-9711.