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