Carry moonbeams home in a jar during All-Saints-Weekend.



And so ends “All Saints” weekend in many countries.

The first weekend in November which is just coming to an end now around much of the world, was somewhat black in many places where riots tangled up city streets. Wars were being fought in dozens of conflict areas.


by Igorot Sharon Santiago with Melissa Hemingway


 

Women and children around the world were persecuted, raped and killed this weekend because of their gender. It doesn’t get blacker than that. The end game of misogyny is species extermination.

There were few “Saints” in Hong Kong as violence erupted among Hong Kong police, pro-democracy protests and even journalists leaving some HK’ers in critical condition.

So, what is “Carry moonbeams home in a jar” all about?

It is a line from a cheery traditional-pop song called “Would you like to swing on a star?”. This merry ditty was introduced in the movie Going My Way by a famous American singer, Bing Crosby, an extraordinarily nice man by all accounts, at a terribly tough time in 1944.

During World War II in 1944, the times were so tough when Mr. Crosby introduced this song, that only months later in the following year, the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Japan to end a horrible war that was killing over 100 million people. That’s 100 million people if you count all the Chinese and Russian civilian deaths.

Editor said, “Carry moonbeams home in a jar”

Yes, fantasy works during tough times. So instead of fretting the bad stuff this weekend, FPM.news writers were told to go and find a happy story and “carry moonbeams home in a jar”. They did.

FPM.news‘s Sharon Santiago visited the Cordillera Mountain city of Baguio in the Philippines where the Igorot tribes and other indigenous peoples were celebrating.

This was “All Saints” weekend in many countries.

In the Philippines this holiday is referred to as “Undas”. It is a joyful time of family, friends and reunions. Everyone is eating luscious meals and dancing in the streets after the early part of the ceremonies which is to honour the dead, then celebrate their lives.

3 November 2019 ~ Traditional indigenous tribal dancers perform on Session Road in Baguio City, Republic of the Philippines.
3 November 2019 ~ Traditional indigenous tribal dancers perform on Session Road in Baguio City, Republic of the Philippines. Photo Credit: Melissa Hemingway. Photo Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine

The locals explained to / Feminine-Perspective Magazine  that “the word Igorot, means mountaineer or people of the mountains in Filipino.  It describes five similar ethnic groups in the mountains of northern Luzon Island, Philippines. These tribes have kept traditional ways of life,” said a stall keeper who sold fruit and vegetables.

Some Igorot live in the tropical forests of the Cordillera foothills, but most live in rugged grassland and pine forest zones higher up the mountains from 1000 to 2000 meters.

According to a taxi driver who has lived in the Cordillera Mountains for over fifty years, “the Spanish used this term, “Igorot” but it was used in a negative manner referring to savages and backward people of the mountains, which we were happy to let the Americans and Japanese believe when they came and took over because they consequently left us alone,” he chuckled happily through many missing teeth.

Encyclopedia Britannica reports that, “the Igorot people numbered about 1.5 million around the year 2000.”

Igorot languages belong to the Luzon Island class of Philippines’ languages, which then belong to the Malayo-Polynesian family.


3 November 2019 ~ Street artist does his craft on the sidelines as traditional indigenous tribal dancers perform on Session Road in Baguio City, Republic of the Philippines. Photo Credit: Melissa Hemingway. Photo Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine

Carry moonbeams home in a jar — the beautiful spirit of the Philippines Women and their families

3 November 2019 ~ Traditional indigenous tribal dancers perform on Session Road in Baguio City, Republic of the Philippines. Video Credit: Melissa Hemingway. Art/Cropping/Enhancement: Rosa Yamamoto / Feminine-Perspective Magazine

Would You Like To Swing On A Star?

Music: Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyrics: Johnny Burke
Performer: Bing Crosby

Would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?

Or would you rather be a mule?

A mule is an animal with long funny ears
Kicks up at anything he hears
His back is brawny but his brain is weak
He’s just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
And by the way, if you hate to go to school
You may grow up to be a mule

Would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?

Or would you rather be a pig?

A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
His shoes are a terrible disgrace
He has no manners when he eats his food
He’s fat and lazy and extremely rude
But if you don’t care a feather or a fig
You may grow up to be a pig

Would you like to swing on a star?
Carry moonbeams home in a jar?
And be better off than you are?

Or would you rather be a fish?

A fish won’t do anything, but swim in a brook
He can’t write his name or read a book
To fool the people is his only thought
And though he’s slippery, he still gets caught
But then if that sort of life is what you wish
You may grow up to be a fish
A new kind of jumped-up slippery fish

And all the monkeys aren’t in the zoo
Every day you meet quite a few
So you see it’s all up to you
You can be better than you are
You could be swingin’ on a star