I arriveinGuatemalaonTheDayoftheDead,November1st.  I’mcuriousaboutthisholiday,soIgo tothecemeterytoseewhat’shappening.  WhatIfindisquiteinteresting.

Theatmosphereislikeaparty.  Therearepeopleeverywhere.  Familiesaresittingaroundthe gravesoftheirdeadancestors.  Theycleanthegravesandaddfreshflowers.  Iwalkthroughthe cemeteryandadmirethebeautyofallthecolorfulflowers.

Thereisalsocolorinthesky,becausemanykidsareflyingkites.  Somefamiliesarehavingapicnic nexttothegraves.  Theyeat,drink,andchattogether.  Peoplelaughandsmile.

IntheUnitesStates,cemeteriesarealwayssomber.  Wecertainlyneverhavefestivalsorparties nexttograves.  Wedon’tlaughorplaymusicorflykitesincemeterieseither.

IfindthatIprefertheGuatemalanapproach.  Ilikethewaytheyrememberandcelebratethose whohavepassedaway.  Ilikethattheyacknowledgedeath,insteadofdenyingittheway Americansdo.  Ilikethatthereislife,aswellasdeath,intheircemeteries.

Guatemalanscallit“TheDayoftheDead”,butitisalsoadaytoappreciatelife.