Offerenda

Our graveyard is a magical place,
please respect the inhabitants

October 31 - November 2

All Hallow's Eve
Halloween
All Saints, Ognissanti
All Souls, ψυχοσάββατο
Los Dias de los Muertos
Los Dias de les Angelitos
Samhain
Festival of the Dead




Summer's end, end of the harvest,
beginning of the darker half of the year..





Packing the tools we need, we head out to the graveyard,
brushes to scrub, flowers to plant,
each family grave trimmed back, cleared, scrubbed
preparing the earth in honour of life

For who can say who will be back to visit us this All Hallow's Eve?

We leave trinkets and photos, flowers and amulets,
honouring the souls of those who have gone before us

Those whose lives have lead a path to ours,

those who are alive in our memories,

Each year we refresh the family stories, laugh at days gone by

and ultimately celebrate the mystery of death,
toward which we all inevitably march

We honour lives and memories..




for what is life if we cannot laugh at ourselves?




The cycle of life ultimately beyond our control!

si la muerte te sorbe el coco,
haste p...a un lado y baila el jarabe loco!

Throw up you arms, join in the parade!
There is much to celebrate in the graveyard tonight!

Enchanters cackle, vampires wail
the good witch spins her fairy tale,

bats, forest owls, a harvest moon
long shadows, faerie mischief and ancient rune

There is SO much to celebrate
in the graveyard tonight!

Drawing on traditions from many cultures, Halloween has become for us, a time to celebrate the cycle of life..

We invite you to remember
your friends and family who have died
by adding them to our Shrine To Honour The Dead
in the comments box below
 




linking too:

the Art of Remembering recuerda mi corazon

Remembering Our Girlfriends

This week the children and I drew up our memory papers for our Shrine to Honour The Dead. To celebrate the season we also also made sugar skulls, a Mexican Tradition for Los Dias de los Muertos - Days of the Dead - All Souls, All Saints, and Dia de los Angelitios - Day of the Little Angels; children who have passed over..
Oct 31st through Nov 2nd.

Skelitos by the Moore's all ages

We began with a quick sketch of our skelitos and then drew up our memory papers

so our friends could add to our shrine that we put up annually in the
kitchen to mark Halloween and All Souls.

The next step was to create our sugar skulls from sugar
and meringue powder and then to decorate them.

Sugar Skull in Honour of T Moore by me

Sugar Skull by T Moore age 13

Sugar Skull in honour of Aunt Sonia by K Radosevic age 12

Finally we will put the offerenda together and have it
ready for our friends to add too on October 31st!



In memory of our dear girlfriends who have fought cancer bravely but have left us far too early,
Inga, Sonia, Letti, Kerri

strong, brave, gentle mothers


guide us still, from beyond.. xxxx

linking too:

the Art of Remembering recuerda mi corazon

Sunday Sketches Blue Chair Diary
 

Remembering Alan

 

remembering wee Alan

fun-loving, energetic, mischief..

linking too:

  the Art of Remembering recuerda mi corazon

Remembering Grandad

 Remembering Grandad by C Moore age 10

Remembering Grandad Tom

poet, story teller, romantic..


linking too:

the Art of Remembering recuerda mi corazon