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