All Soul's Day

I took my first day off today since arriving in Sicily in June.
Incidently, so did all of the Italians.
As Elizabeth and I drove around this morning we noticed the schools were out of session.
There were more people mulling around.
As we drove by the ornate, typically empty, cemetary in the little town of Motta we noticed a commotion.
The road was filled with cars. The police were directing traffic. People were streaming in and out of the cemetary.
It was as if it were the American fairgrounds or the Italian market day.
It is All Soul's Day.

Unlike in the US, it is an Italian holiday.
The cemetary was filled with people. A priest was saying Mass outside.
There were flowers EVERYWHERE.
It is all above ground and most of the plots were mausoleums that were like small chapels for each family.
People live there whole lives in one place here. Everyone stops to pay respects to their whole family which they can visit.
They also pay respect to their whole neighborhood whose previous inhabitants are laid to rest right in the middle of town.
What a wonderful celebration. A whole different look at life.
What a perfect day to have my first day off.
What a wonderful experience.

(in memory of Adele, my mom and Evelyn, my daughter)