Sometimes the motivation to write is just not there. Its almost as if my procrastination portion of my brain is mocking me. Although not a very good excuse, It is the only reason I have to explain the lack of writing that goes on in this little blog.
I want to tell you about Halloween. Or, the day after halloween, to be exact. Here in Croatia, they do not celebrate Halloween. In fact, when I explained halloween to them, they laughed and told me they always wondered why North Americans did that.
No, in Croatia, they celebrate all saints day instead. November 1st is a day dedicated to respecting loved ones that have passed on. In almost every store you are able to buy small plastic lanterns meant to be placed on graves. I went with my host family to the Varaždin cemetary (known to be one of the most beautiful cemetaries in europe) and I watched as hundreds upon hundreds of people peacefully honoured the dead. In North America, you would never see this. That many people could not gather in a place so small without loud shouts and something going wrong. Until that day, I never realized how truly tragic that is.
Have we, as a nation, forgotten respect? Where are the days when a cemetary could stand so gracefully in a large city and not have to fear vandalism? Where are the days when WE could bring so many candles to one location and not fear fire caused by uncareful hands?
There were so many candles brought to the cemetary that day, that when I went to sleep that night I could see the warm, hazy light from my bedroom window. The cross in the centre of the cemetary was surrounded by so many that it was unbearably hot to even stand near it. This is how it should be. We shouldnt leave the graves of our loved ones unvisited because we dont want to face the sadness it brings with us. I wish that just once, I could see a group of people that respectful towards others back home, both living and dead. It brought tears to my eyes, and it is something that I will never forget as long as I live
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