Graveyards are peaceful places, on the surface. They are places of reflection and introspection. There was a time when even the worst of humanity would treat graveyards the way they would treat chapels; with dignity and reverence and, indeed, fear. Even today, though, in these times when it seems nothing is sacred, graveyards generally are peaceful. Beneath their tranquility and solemnity, though, they are boiling cauldrons of emotion gone awry. Don’t send your children there. They will never come back.
I wrote this on August 12, 2012. Not that it matters.
John, actually my point was that within the “same cultural”, it is amazingly divided, and denial of ancestral roots plays a large part in the mere 3% of the general populace. I was mistaken in my 1st post. I attended a funeral of a young man that worked here as a guard for the neighborhood. I used to give him rides when I saw him, for I saw that he was quite ill, reluctantly he would accept these rides. Later the other guards told me he had passed, so I asked them were he lived, which was near by. The funeral and casket were in a little house that belonged to his parents where he lived. His family were the most hospitable I’ve ever encounter…either side of the boarder. My then husband was to say the least, fidgety. We apparently crossed the culturally line within the same culture.
Sorry for the rant, and I realize that this post, nor the previous ties in to your reflections, a story that came to me, and a bit of my own reflections, just in a personal way…after all John, where would I find a a blog related to graveyards? I very much appreciate your thoughts on the subject, and as Susanne said, it does matter.
Yes, Trish, different cultures, different perspectives.
Interesting subject, John. Here the graveyards receive quite a few visitors on any given day. I happen to have one two blocks from my house which I drive by daily, and its often mixed with a funeral or mant people visiting graves. On “El Dia de los Muertos” it is inpassable for a good radius. Strangely enough, those that bury their deceased here are the poor. Middle class and up choose cremation, and placing the ashes in family crypts. I’ve attended many funerals over the years and as yet, not one was a burial. I’m really not sure if it stems from social caste, religious practices (Catholicism still frowns upon cremation), cultural separation (the Aztecs embraced both forms), or a mix of all?
Nevertheless, graveyards here are anything but peaceful. They have a steady flow of company from those still above ground.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbW-SxZkfK0
It matter’s John.