No Jack o Lanterns for me...

Today was All Saints' Day, a holiday not widely observed in the States but recognized in many other countries, including Guatemala.  In some parts of the country, it is celebrated with much fanfare, most  famously in Todos Santos, home of the Drunken Horse Race. 

Here, we passed the day a little more 'tranquilo'... The office was closed, so I slept in, then took Bella for a run with my host sister (yeah, running, more on that later).  We had a Delicious chicken dish that my host mom had just learned, with chipotle peppers and cabbage and shredded chicken breast.  Then we walked to the cemetary to visit the dead.  Sound creepy?   Let me (try to) explain why it wasn't.

All Saints Day here is a day for the living to go visit and remember their loved ones.  Some believe that all the souls are allowed to come back to visit this one day a year.  In some communities, people bring food and drink and sit by the grave to share, or bring a flask and toast to their deceased.  In our cemetary, families came to visit their departed and leave flowers and candles adorning their tombs.  Instead of burying their dead, they use above ground tombs that often house and have space for whole families.  It's hard to explain, so I took pictures. 

The flowers and the hanging with the host family was nice-don't get me wrong-but i'll be happy to return to the costumed drunken debauchery, pumpkin carving, and bite sized candy bars next year.