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When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

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Re: When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

#31

Post by mejutoco »

vlovich123 wrote: post #27
gambiting wrote: post #25

I remember the scene in the TV show "How I met your mother" where one of the main characters, Marshall, goes to visit his dad's grave with a BBQ and some beers to watch a game(of football?) with his dad like they always used to. I thought it was extremely unusual but actually, kind of lovely. Where I come from(Poland) cemetaries are almost sacred, instead of halloween we celebrate "wszystkich świętych"(all saints day…

That sounds very similar to the Spanish Día de los Muertos.

In Spain we call it el día de todos los santos

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day#Spain

Re: When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

#32

Post by TeMPOraL »

vlovich123 wrote: post #27
gambiting wrote: post #25

I remember the scene in the TV show "How I met your mother" where one of the main characters, Marshall, goes to visit his dad's grave with a BBQ and some beers to watch a game(of football?) with his dad like they always used to. I thought it was extremely unusual but actually, kind of lovely. Where I come from(Poland) cemetaries are almost sacred, instead of halloween we celebrate "wszystkich świętych"(all saints day…

That sounds very similar to the Spanish Día de los Muertos.

Does it? I don't know much about the Day itself, but I know that there's a ton of commercial marketing around it coming from US companies, making it feel like the Day is some kind of party. I was startled by it at first, and then assumed maybe Mexicans prefer the observances to be joyful rather than solemn.

I'm from Poland, and it's like 'gambiting describes: the cemeteries are sacred, All Saints Day is a time of solemn observance, and no humor about this is culturally tolerated.

I live in a major city, we have some old cemeteries in which various local and national people of importance were buried, with corresponding monuments/artworks. When Ingress[0] launched, some points of interest were placed in those cemeteries. I remember a huge stink about this in the community, and a general agreement to pretend they don't exist, as people felt it's disrespectful to play on cemeteries.

--

[0] - The "AR" game by the company that later created Pokémon Go.

Re: When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

#33

Post by 7thaccount »

beckman466 wrote: post #22
tokai wrote: post #21

In Copenhagen, Denmark the municipality is actively encouraging recreational use of the cities cemeteries. As they write "The cemetery is also for the living". Everything else seems like a waste of space imo. Respect and leisure ain't orthogonal. https://www.kk.dk/kirkegaarde

love that. yes some are making it out to be something disrespectful somehow. i also would prefer if cemeteries were converted to parks to be green spaces available to all. spots in cemeteries are also usually only affordable for the propertied class too. for many in the working class they're not viable. do our cities really need to reserve and block off sizable physical spaces for decades, when we have a housing cris…

I have two enormous cemeteries on either side of my neighborhood. However where I live, just going for a walk there would be considered disrespectful. It's outdated in my opinion. Cemeteries are a terrible waste of space and horrible for the environment too. Like you said, go ahead and have a beautiful ceremony. I've told my wife to cremate me or turn me into one of those tree things that people are talking about now. I don't want to be covered in all the chemicals and be used to destroy the planet.

If you have an existing cemetery, at least convert it into a dual use space like the one in Boston with the fish ponds and maybe also put a playground up. There aren't nearly enough of those for parents of young children. Especially during a pandemic when you want to not cram 100 kids in a fairly small space.

Re: When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

#35

Post by pif »

vlovich123 wrote: post #27
gambiting wrote: post #25

I remember the scene in the TV show "How I met your mother" where one of the main characters, Marshall, goes to visit his dad's grave with a BBQ and some beers to watch a game(of football?) with his dad like they always used to. I thought it was extremely unusual but actually, kind of lovely. Where I come from(Poland) cemetaries are almost sacred, instead of halloween we celebrate "wszystkich świętych"(all saints day…

That sounds very similar to the Spanish Día de los Muertos.

Indeed, it's "All Souls' Day", November, 2nd: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day

Re: When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

#36

Post by pif »

gambiting wrote: post #25

I remember the scene in the TV show "How I met your mother" where one of the main characters, Marshall, goes to visit his dad's grave with a BBQ and some beers to watch a game(of football?) with his dad like they always used to. I thought it was extremely unusual but actually, kind of lovely. Where I come from(Poland) cemetaries are almost sacred, instead of halloween we celebrate "wszystkich świętych"(all saints day…

I think you are confusing "All Saints' Day" (November, 1st [1]) with "All Souls' Day" (November, 2nd [2]). In Italy as well, people will go to cemeteries on the 1st, because it's a bank holiday, but the celebrations if for the 2nd.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day

Re: When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

#37

Post by wruza »

7thaccount wrote: post #33
beckman466 wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

love that. yes some are making it out to be something disrespectful somehow. i also would prefer if cemeteries were converted to parks to be green spaces available to all. spots in cemeteries are also usually only affordable for the propertied class too. for many in the working class they're not viable. do our cities really need to reserve and block off sizable physical spaces for decades, when we have a housing cris…

I have two enormous cemeteries on either side of my neighborhood. However where I live, just going for a walk there would be considered disrespectful. It's outdated in my opinion. Cemeteries are a terrible waste of space and horrible for the environment too. Like you said, go ahead and have a beautiful ceremony. I've told my wife to cremate me or turn me into one of those tree things that people are talking about now…

Cremation also makes a significant carbon footprint, afaik. Best eco way to get rid of the body is to drop it to the sea floor.

Re: When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

#38

Post by clydethefrog »

gambiting wrote: post #25

I remember the scene in the TV show "How I met your mother" where one of the main characters, Marshall, goes to visit his dad's grave with a BBQ and some beers to watch a game(of football?) with his dad like they always used to. I thought it was extremely unusual but actually, kind of lovely. Where I come from(Poland) cemetaries are almost sacred, instead of halloween we celebrate "wszystkich świętych"(all saints day…

See also the Qingming Festival in Han-Chinese culture.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingming_Festival

Re: When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

#39

Post by gpderetta »

pjc50 wrote: post #17

Nowadays it's mostly just goths, at least in the UK. Although Edinburgh has managed to turn its cemeteries into tourist attractions. Partly serious historical (Hume), partly morbid-fantastic (ghost tours), part Harry Potter. Plus the only US Civil War memorial outside the US, an incongruous statue of Lincoln overlooking the city from Calton Hill. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Calton_Burial_Ground#/medi... Look ou…

There is a cemetery near my house in London. Before I moved, I used to routinely go through it every day to get to the tube station on the other side.

There is also an hospital nearby and it was common, on sunny days, to see doctors and nurses having their lunch on the grass there.

Re: When Americans picnicked in cemeteries

#40

Post by gambiting »

pif wrote: post #36
gambiting wrote: post #25

I remember the scene in the TV show "How I met your mother" where one of the main characters, Marshall, goes to visit his dad's grave with a BBQ and some beers to watch a game(of football?) with his dad like they always used to. I thought it was extremely unusual but actually, kind of lovely. Where I come from(Poland) cemetaries are almost sacred, instead of halloween we celebrate "wszystkich świętych"(all saints day…

I think you are confusing "All Saints' Day" (November, 1st [1]) with "All Souls' Day" (November, 2nd [2]). In Italy as well, people will go to cemeteries on the 1st, because it's a bank holiday, but the celebrations if for the 2nd. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Saints%27_Day [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day

Uhm.....not sure how I'm confusing the two? Can you explain please? In Poland "all saints day"(and I say "all saints" because that's literally what "wszystkich świętych" means) is definitely celebrated on the 1st of November, regardless of what day that is. Nothing is celebrated on the 2nd of November.

Edit:

In fact, in that Wiki article that you linked for "all saints day", click on "Polski" in the bottom left corner, and the Polish version of the same article does say it's celebrated in Poland on the 1st of November. "all souls day" doesn't exist here as a concept.

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