November 2nd in Brazil is a big day. It is the Day of the Dead. Not to be confused with that old B movie where one sees those zombie people walking out of the cemetery. It is a day where the nation shuts down to "honor" and remember their loved one who have gone on into eternity before them. I got the following article from Wikipedia:
"The Day of the Dead ... is a holiday celebrated in Mexico, [Brazil] and by Latin Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st, and November 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints' Day which occurs on November 1st and All Souls' Day which occurs on November 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts."
Our day was NOT spent at the cemetary but in a lovely flowing stream about two hours south of Sorocaba in the small city of Tapiari. We had eight of our teens and one mom, Marcia, who spent the day in the lovely, crystal, cool water.
I thought that some of the stuff that we did was going to help us to be among the "honored" in NEXT years November 2 celebration. There were a few times that I thought that we were going to have to return home with the, "We have some good news and some bad news... what do you want first?" scenario. But praise our graceful Heavenly Father we were very protected all day long.
It was such a lovely day and we had such fun that it was difficult to imagine that there were actually many people who spent all or part of their day praying for their dearly departed loved ones. We were celebrating life and the just discovered eternal life of some of our newer teens. In fact just yesterday after church, Alexandre, Dawn and I spent an hour with a couple of the teens parents assuring them that we would be very careful with their young people as we spent the day with them. Neither of those parents are saved and we are praying that our little excursion today will help these precious parents to see their need for the Living Water of Jesus Christ.
"The Day of the Dead ... is a holiday celebrated in Mexico, [Brazil] and by Latin Americans living in the United States and Canada. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. The celebration occurs on November 1st, and November 2nd in connection with the Catholic holiday of All Saints' Day which occurs on November 1st and All Souls' Day which occurs on November 2nd. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts."
Our day was NOT spent at the cemetary but in a lovely flowing stream about two hours south of Sorocaba in the small city of Tapiari. We had eight of our teens and one mom, Marcia, who spent the day in the lovely, crystal, cool water.
I thought that some of the stuff that we did was going to help us to be among the "honored" in NEXT years November 2 celebration. There were a few times that I thought that we were going to have to return home with the, "We have some good news and some bad news... what do you want first?" scenario. But praise our graceful Heavenly Father we were very protected all day long.
It was such a lovely day and we had such fun that it was difficult to imagine that there were actually many people who spent all or part of their day praying for their dearly departed loved ones. We were celebrating life and the just discovered eternal life of some of our newer teens. In fact just yesterday after church, Alexandre, Dawn and I spent an hour with a couple of the teens parents assuring them that we would be very careful with their young people as we spent the day with them. Neither of those parents are saved and we are praying that our little excursion today will help these precious parents to see their need for the Living Water of Jesus Christ.
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