every year on november first the hungarians all go to the cemetery in their towns to honor or remember the dead. they bring flowers to the graves and put candles on them, too. that's basically all i knew about it before this evening.
tonight my private student ma'lna showed me and laura and reagan around the cemetery after she and her family went there. we went at about 5pm (but it was already dark) and it was one of the busiest times, according to ma'lna. she told us that there are priests who say prayers or sing songs over the graves and families all go together. she also told us that when you're at the graveside of a loved one you tell happy, fun memories you have of that person and remember all the good things about them. you do this as a family, as opposed to the very private ways we grieve and remember the dead in america. even though i knew about candles and flowers, i couldn't have imagined all this.
the whole town had millions of flowers and candles for sale this week and especially today
some famous guy from nyiregyhaza's monument
uh, don't mind the stroller... though it shows that everyone in the family goes to the cemetery.
i liked this one a lot
oooh, what a lucky dead person!
ma'lna said this person must have only very recently died, that's why it has so many wreaths, flowers, and ribbons (she said they must have been buried in the last few days)
a close-up of that recent one
it's hard to show you just how HUGE this place is!it was a bigger than most parks, maybe as big as an airport!
aw, this little unmarked grave with no flowers or candles was so sad
i figured out the "twilight" setting on my camera when we were on the way out
this was us after we got outta there
me and one of the cops who were directing foot-traffic
and then we ate at mcdonald's - we were happy to have MEAT!
oh, here is a video i took while we were in what seemed like the middle of the cemetery. i did a 360 degree shot to show all the candles everywhere but you can't see it too well. you'll just have to come here one year and see it for yourself!
8 comments:
Wow I thought I wouldn't say this but the big picture that we were instructed to click is beautiful! PS I had Chick-Fil-A today and thought of you!
thanks for all of the pictures. i wouldn't have imagined so many candles and flowers on the graves - that really is amazing.
oh yeah - and i really miss you. thanks for calling to talk about reeses - it's so hard to deal with. i mean, she's BABY DOG! we'll just wait to see what they say about her bloodwork. i just hope she's not in pain. kiss xander for me!
um i'm confused about why you were so excited to eat meat. do they not eat it on the day of the dead?
sure they eat meat on the day of the dead. we were just happy have meat because... well, i don't buy it on a regular basis 'cause i can't read it all and one time i accidentally bought chicken liver. they don't really sell beef anywhere. there is turkey and pork, but.. eh. so at mcdonald's there is beef and that's lovely.
That's so amazing and so beautiful how they remember the dead. Such a touching thing to see visible proof of how much people love & miss their loved ones! I wish it were like that here.
oh, and thanks for clearing up the *excited to eat meat* thing, btw. I was wondering as i read it, too
ps. nice video. LOL. at least you finally got me to watch a video... without directing me to youtube, that is. ;)
Great pictures Christie! We were at Dracula's place on Halloween and on the Day of the Dead... not quite as ceremonial, but still a bit eerie!
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