Christmas is a time when families travel great distances to be together, to be 'home for the holidays'. It is also time when cemeteries blossom with decorations; sometimes, very elaborate decorations. Just as families may not see each other any other time during the year, a visit to place holiday decorations on a grave may be the only visit a family makes to the cemetery.
Whether we visit the cemetery every week, once a year, or every ten years, there is a great value in having a place to visit when we want to share a holiday, our good or bad news, or some quiet time with our departed loved ones. The grave allows us to be physically close to our loved ones when we feel the need to be close emotionally, and when we have no such place, we miss opportunities to continue our relationship.
In our minds we know that we can speak to our dead just as easily a thousand miles from where their remains lie, but our hearts are accustomed to being close to our loved ones. And so we go, even if it's just once a year, so we can share this special holiday together.
I haven!t heard of this tradition so far, thanks for sharing. This is not a custom in Hungary, though it would worth doing it.
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