Memorial Day has been set aside for remembering our dearly departed. In the United States, we have Memorial Day Holiday, where we go to the graveside and leave decorations in memory of that person. I personally stop and say a prayer for that person. I also use “God Mail,” because God knows where that spirit is, telling that person what I want to share. I depend on God to deliver it, whether it is a beautiful sunset or just whatever I want to say. It comforts me greatly and has for many years. I also do this anytime I want to send a message. I know that person is not here  in the shell we call a body, for the spirit has moved onward on its journey. That connection still exists, and I don’t feel separated any more. It aids me in the grieving process as well.

This Memorial can happen during the year as well, as demonstrated by the memorials placed beside the road for those who had an accident at that spot and did not survive.

Other cultures have many ways of doing this.

From the Wikipedia Encyclopedia: “Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico where the day is a bank holiday. The celebration takes place on October 31, November 1 and November 2, in connection with the triduum of All Hallows’ Eve, Hallowmas itself, and All Souls’ Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world. In Brazil Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain there are festivals and parades and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.”

In Mexico they have the Muerte, where the families go and picnic at the grave site, celebrating the memory of their loved ones. Others around the world do this as well, performing many acts of remembrance, including building a small house on a pole where they bow and honor them daily. Ancestral worship is an element of many religions.

One could even say that some try to communicate with the dead by a seance through a medium. Perhaps the living want to ask something or resolve an issue that never happened when that person was alive. Who is to say what is right or wrong?

Many cultures say that, once that person has moved on, one cannot say their name because it would disturb their journey, calling them back to this world.

In short,  our beliefs are just that, our own reality expressing. At this time, take whatever action you deem appropriate, communicate in whatever way you want to, and be comforted.

I, for one, am on my way to the cemetery to put some decorated crosses on the graves. There, I will say my prayers.

How about you?

God’s blessings on your journey!