I arrive in Guatemala on The of the Dead, November 1st. I’m curious about this holiday, so go to the cemetery to see what’s happening. What find is quite interesting.
The atmosphere is like a party. are people everywhere. Families are sitting around the graves of dead ancestors. They clean the graves and add fresh flowers. I walk through the cemetery and the beauty of all the colorful flowers.
There also color in the sky, because many kids are kites. Some families are having a picnic next to graves. They eat, drink, and chat together. People laugh smile.
In the Unites States, cemeteries are always somber. We certainly never festivals or parties next to graves. We don’t laugh or music or fly kites in cemeteries either.
I find that I the Guatemalan approach. I like the way they remember and those who have passed away. I like that they death, instead of denying it the way Americans do. I like that there life, as well as death, in their cemeteries.
Guatemalans call it “The of the Dead”, but it is also a day appreciate life.