Happy Dia De Todos Los Santos!
Posted on November 1, 2008 - Filed Under Guatemala | 1 Comment
Today is All Saints Day, so that means big celebrations in Guatemala. I`ll be out snapping TONS of photos today to share with you guys later, but here`s the rough outline for the day.
The kids have been bathed and are down for naps. As soon as they get up, we`re off to have our annual family photo taken before heading to the street (Irving`s sister does the honors). Here`s last year`s photo:
Notice the boxes to the right and left of us? Those were our floor tiles . . . this time last year, we still didn`t have a kitchen/living room!
So, once we hit the street, we`ll be joined by plenty of other families out to enjoy the day. We`ll probably stop to order our fiambre first, since it takes up to 3 hours to prepare, and then we`ll go buy kites for the kids. I had planned to make them this year, but we just never got the sticks needed. Oh well. Next year.
The boys will probably destroy their kites on the walk down the dusty dirt road to the cemetery where we will go visit Irving`s family . . . the ones who are dead, that is. The graveyard will be full of flowers, freshly mounded earth and people laughing and talking and remembering their family members. It`s not sad really, in fact it`s more of a celebration. However, there are certainly those who have recently lost someone who have trouble with the joy of the celebration. For the most part though, people laugh and talk about their aunts, uncles and grandparents, remembering how they used to get into trouble with a best friend who was killed in a car accident, etc. It`s not something most foreigners would be comfortable doing themselves, I think, if it came to our own dead loved ones!
Next, we`ll eat at one of the tents outside the graveyard. Some people bring food right in and sit on the tombstones to eat, but these are tents set up by various non-profit organizations to gather funds, so we support them. There will also be little tables of old women selling typical sweets, coconut balls and fingers, pumpkin boiled in sugar, tamarind balls and curls, and sweet figs. I`m sure we`ll be buying quite a bit of this stuff . . . we don`t have Halloween, but this is just as good!
Normally, we would stay out until the evening, with the kids running about, stopping for a bite of mole (spicy chocolate-sesame sauce on plantain) or gringas (tortillas with roasted meat and cheese) and climbing on the chairs and rocks along the road, while the adults eat and chat. Family members who now live in other towns come by to talk to their relatives, living and dead and a good time is had by all. However, today, Irving has to work and he`ll be leaving at 4:30, which means we need to get back here by 3, so the afternoon will be cut a bit short. I think we`ll just load up with goodies to keep us happy all afternoon, though and the kids can fly their kites in the yard, where Tasha can eat the bits that fall off. 
And that, minus the pics, is Nov. 1st in a nutshell here.
Comments
One Response to “Happy Dia De Todos Los Santos!”
Talk to Me, People!
Halloween, Samhain, is a good time to remember and honor the dead. This year, my mother has joined my father. I am still coming to terms with being an orphan. Also, as I am a busy busy mom – I don’t stop to THINK and remember enough. This is a good time to do so.
Have a blessed day!