Xela, Guatemala: Day of the Dead
Action
Our first day in Xela, November 1st, was Dia de los Muertos - Day of the Dead. In Guatemala (and many other Latino and non-Latino places), people honor this day not with solemn memorials, but rather vibrant celebrations. Families gather to clean and decorate the graves of loved ones, have a picnic, and chat with friends and neighbors. Vendors pass through the cemetery selling flowers, ice cream, and fruit. Kids fly kites and run around the graves playing. The already colorful Guatemalan cemeteries turn into virtual rainbows, bursting with people and sound.
Reflection
After many years of bedridden illness, one of my grandmothers recently passed away. One of my first thoughts was of Day of the Dead. I don’t think about death very often, but I appreciated the Guatemalan approach that we witnessed on Day of the Dead. Think and talk about what you loved about the person. Enjoy the moment, as you would if the person were there. Keep the person’s essence alive in the life you live. Incorporate memories of the person into a new happy experience.
Question
How do you honor the dead? Or how would you like to?
Our first day in Xela, November 1st, was Dia de los Muertos - Day of the Dead. In Guatemala (and many other Latino and non-Latino places), people honor this day not with solemn memorials, but rather vibrant celebrations. Families gather to clean and decorate the graves of loved ones, have a picnic, and chat with friends and neighbors. Vendors pass through the cemetery selling flowers, ice cream, and fruit. Kids fly kites and run around the graves playing. The already colorful Guatemalan cemeteries turn into virtual rainbows, bursting with people and sound.
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| Visiting a nearby planning office |
Reflection
After many years of bedridden illness, one of my grandmothers recently passed away. One of my first thoughts was of Day of the Dead. I don’t think about death very often, but I appreciated the Guatemalan approach that we witnessed on Day of the Dead. Think and talk about what you loved about the person. Enjoy the moment, as you would if the person were there. Keep the person’s essence alive in the life you live. Incorporate memories of the person into a new happy experience.
Question
How do you honor the dead? Or how would you like to?
1 Comments:
At 3:18 PM, lernerm said…
I agree with you that one of the best ways to honor the dead is to keep the persons essence alive in the life you live. Whatever they were proud of in you, keep doing it/being it. Whatever you were proud of in them, keep doing it. Of course, when someone is dead, they are dead and unaware that you are honoring them, so it's best to honor them while they are alive. Funerals it is said are for the living. As an aside, I just finished a wonderful book by Ira Byock called something like The Four Most Important Things, about four important things (duh) that need to be said or dealt with before one dies, namely - I love you, I forgive you, Please forgive me, and Thank you - sounds trite, but it was very nicely put and someday you may want to look at it.
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