Tuesday, October 30, 2012

the golden flower of the grave yard

Chrysanthemum (golden flower) path in Barberton, O.

Sunday, i bumped into a friend from Barberton. I had not seen her for a few months. I mentioned, that i enjoyed the Mums Fest. She said, she did not allow herself to ever go. In the old country it was the graveyard flower for All Saints', and All Souls. They would remind her of that.

Yes, it is true. Much, if not all of Catholic Europe, considers it such. They are beautiful flowers, and in bloom there, when so few flowers are. The dead are remembered, and people visit and take care of grave sites. People, and society together in the Church agree about this for the beginning of November. [The Orthodox and Greek Catholics have All Saints the First Sunday after Pentecost.]

Mexico had been a part of Spain. The First of  November is All Saints', the Second is All Souls.  There those two days combined with indigenous folklore, and the resultant became Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The typical flower there is the, somewhat similar, marigold. The colors of yellow, gold, and orange, and the shape of the bloom, and the smell are comparable. Traditionally, people have referred to marigolds of having the smell of death.

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