Day of the Dead

Heather: November first is a national holiday in Hungary. It is called halottok napja -- day of the dead. It is a holiday similar to our Memorial Day where people gather in family groups to visit and decorate their ancestors final resting places. The holiday is connected to our Halloween in that it is the day after All Saints Eve. But it is a much more meaningful and important event than our celebration is.

Families spend days buying flowers and candles to take to the cemetery. Then they spend the day decorating the graves of their departed loved ones. Almost every grave has flowers on it. Some are very lavishly decorated but all are done with care and devotion. This pictures is of the places where the remains of those who have been cremated rest. The Pécs cemetery is huge, well cared for and very beautiful especially in the spring and fall.

Norm: This World War I memorial is dedicated to the many Hungarian soldiers who valiantly fought with the Central Powers of Europe against the Triple Alliance.

The CCCP (Russia) was allied with the forces that prevailed during World War ll. This memorial is surrounded by hundreds of graves of the young men who died for that cause. This memorial is one of very few places in Hungary where the Red Star is allowed to be displayed as it is symbolic of the latter dreaded Soviet occupation.