Honduran Funerals

We have had an interesting/sad couple of days. Our host grandma, who was 104-years-old and lived with us, died yesterday. They originally said that she died early in the morning, then reported that she "came back to life". The rest of the day was spent basically waiting for her to die. Friends and relatives came to say goodbye and help prepare the house for the wake and we waited. Around 3:00, she died and the 24-hour wake began. We took everything out of the sitting room and it was decorated with flowers and white sheets. All of the pictures except one of her were removed and her casket was placed there for the viewing. It was interesting to say the least. Her grandchildren put her in the casket outside of her bedroom (with everyone watching) and then it was carried (Kevin helped) to the viewing room. All day and all night people came to say goodbye and pay respects to the family. It is very different here and the family is responsible for providing food, drinks, and lots of snacks to the mourners. We did not eat until around 11:00 P.M. and then most of the people left, only the close family remained. We finally went to bed around 12:45 and people stayed there all night and most returned around 8:00 A.M. Today was much the same, people hanging out, eating lots of cookies and drinking lots of soda, and then at 3:00 (24-hours after she died) the funeral procession began. Her casket was carried to the Catholic Church and there was a funeral complete with communion and offering. We then traveled to the cemetery where her casket was put into the tomb and cemented in. Then the family returned to the house and we took down all of the mourning paraphernalia, cleaned the house, and ate leftovers. It was very interesting to see how different cultures mourn. It was certainly an interesting Halloween! Now we plan to eat junk food and watch movies.