Happy Halloween!

Ever since we’ve added the Park City cemetery to our daily walking itinerary, we have become experts in this entire place. We know the marmots, ground squirrels and magpies that inhabit the place and what goes on inside on a seasonal basis. 

This obviously includes all the flowers and decorations that adorn each grave for Memorial Day weekend and a few noteworthy efforts that are also made for Halloween. American cemeteries come in sharp contrast to French ones that are only decorated and visited once a year on November 1st, also known as All Saints Day. 

The most original and cleverly decorated grave in the entire space is that of Rich Martinez, Park City’s last silver miner who passed away in 2017 at age 82. His grave is marked by an old ore cart and is seasonally decorated by his family. The practice of decorating tombs for Halloween finds its origins in Celtic traditions. 

The Celts believed that on the night of Samhain, the veil between the worlds of the living and the dead was thin, and that spirits could cross over into our world. To protect themselves from these spirits, the Celts would build bonfires, dress up in scary costumes, and leave food and drink offerings at their homes and in cemeteries. 

Beyond this origin, cemeteries are seen as places of mystery and intrigue, their dark and somber atmosphere lending itself well to the Halloween celebration. Sure, not everyone agrees with the practice of decorating cemeteries for Halloween. 

Some believe that it is disrespectful to the dead, while others find it to be in poor taste, as for us, we just like it that way and enjoy to seeing people’s creativity at work to remember and honor their dead.