Day of the Dead

This past Sunday Jonathan and I went to the cemetery, cleaned graves, and decorated them with flowers and candles in preparation for the Day of the Dead, which was this past Monday.  The Day of the Dead is a National holiday in Spain and it's purpose is to be with family and remember those that have died.  On Monday Jonathan and I went over to Chelo's for lunch and then went to mass with Begonia, Tina, and Rosa.  This holiday is very interesting to me sociologically as, in general, I feel as though everyone in Spain is very much obsessed with death. 

I remember a year or two ago Jonathan asked me how often I think about my own death, to which I replied "I don't know like once a month, I guess".  Jonathan reported thinking about his own death on a very regular basis.  I thought this may be due to the fact that he, already in his life, has lost people that were very close to him, his father and his grandfather.  I haven't even come close to experiencing the loss that Jonathan has, and assumed that this has shaped both of our perspectives about death.  But since being here, I have begun to think Jonathan's view of death is very much shaped by his Spanish heritage as well.  When I say that Spain is obsessed of death, I don't mean to state that they have this continuous, ominous, fear of dying (though I'm sure some Spaniards experience this, which i think is why Woody Allen is so popular here).  Spanish people seem to have acknowledged death as a very natural thing in a life that happens to everyone.  As a gringo, I also acknowledge that death is natural and don't obsessively fear it, but I guess I'd just rather not think about it.  I have found here in Spain that much attention is paid to ancestry and family lineage.  For example, when Jonathan and I are out with Manolo or Gonzalo (we say that Manolo knows one half, and Gonzalo knows the other half of town), they will often run into people that they know on the street.  They will then introduce Jonathan to them, stating that they are cousins, and then they will identify Jonathan as Vicente's grandson (many of the older people here in town knew Jonathan's grandfather before he emigrated from Spain).  People usually have similar responses to this knowledge - saying incredibly wonderful things about Jonathan's grandfather and then offering Jonathan and I things (rides, food, etc).  I believe that this daily reinforcement of the importance of ancestry, greatly plays into the way Spaniards conceptualize death.  By placing emphasis on blood and ancestry, one is also sustaining their connection with the dead.  When I have heard people here talk about their death it generally has to do with togetherness or a strengthening of a bond.  All Jonathan's grandmother has asked for, is when she dies, to be physically placed with her husband, so that they will be together forever in heaven.  Spain's obsession with death is not a morbid or dark concept, but rather a very beautiful and humanistic conceptualization of life.

I took a bunch of pictures from the cemetery on Sunday and mass on Monday, but Jonathan stole them and put them up on his blog :).  So instead of uploading them again, you can check them out on Jonathan's blog at: http://mellamojamf.blogspot.com/  (you like that plug, booey? :)