Honor Your Ancestors
Quote de jour
“There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.”
~ Helen Keller
Today is All Saint's Day. Tomorrow is All Soul's Day, Day of the Dead or Dia de Los Muertos; whatever you want to call it, it's a day to honor your ancestors. The largely Roman Catholic holiday stems from the ancient Pagan Festival of the Dead, who believed that the souls of the dead would return for a meal with the family. Candles would be lit and placed in window to guide the souls back home, and another place was set at the table. Children would comb the village, asking for food to be offered symbolically to the dead, then donated to feed the hungry. It's the origin of kids going trick or treating.
I wasn't planning to do this post or posting this photo but as John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. Whenever I visit a nearby cemetery, I pause to visit my favorite cemetery angels and this old grave of a young girl. It's an enormous monument of a life-sized ten-year-old; very unusual when children's graves are normally very small. The inscription reads, "We loved her very much."
“There is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his.”
~ Helen Keller
Today is All Saint's Day. Tomorrow is All Soul's Day, Day of the Dead or Dia de Los Muertos; whatever you want to call it, it's a day to honor your ancestors. The largely Roman Catholic holiday stems from the ancient Pagan Festival of the Dead, who believed that the souls of the dead would return for a meal with the family. Candles would be lit and placed in window to guide the souls back home, and another place was set at the table. Children would comb the village, asking for food to be offered symbolically to the dead, then donated to feed the hungry. It's the origin of kids going trick or treating.
I wasn't planning to do this post or posting this photo but as John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans. Whenever I visit a nearby cemetery, I pause to visit my favorite cemetery angels and this old grave of a young girl. It's an enormous monument of a life-sized ten-year-old; very unusual when children's graves are normally very small. The inscription reads, "We loved her very much."
Posted by Layla Morgan Wilde at 11/1/2011 1:11 AM 
Categories: New York, Westchester County, Holiday, Photography, Spirituality
Tags: honor your ancestors day of the dead- ancestor-quote-helen keller dia de los muertos all soul's day- child's grave mt.hope cemetery
Categories: New York, Westchester County, Holiday, Photography, Spirituality
Tags: honor your ancestors day of the dead- ancestor-quote-helen keller dia de los muertos all soul's day- child's grave mt.hope cemetery
Thanks for stopping by our blog No Green Bananas at http://www.nogreenbananas.net and leaving a comment. Our post on "Boomer Muses" must have been cosmically linked to your blog already
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Great to meet you!
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