Video Of The Week - Guatemala's Giant Kite Festival

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Day of the Dead, a holiday celebrated annually on November 1st & 2nd to honor deceased family and friends is enjoyed across Latin America. However the festivities differ in each country. Mexico commemorates the day by offering the departed with their favorite foods, Haiti by playing loud music and drums and Guatemala by flying giant hand-made kites over cemeteries.

The century-old tradition is based on the belief that the kites are able to convey the messages that are tied to their tails to the spirits of the deceased loved ones. Construction of the massive kites begins about 40 days prior to the big day. On November 1st, locals and tourists gather near the country's burial grounds to watch these magnificent structures dot the sky and relay messages until about 4 pm. After that everyone heads home - The tourists to reminisce about the magical day and the locals to await the arrival of the spirit of their loved one.

Resources: telegragh.co.uk, wikipedia.org

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207 Comments
  • hannahalmost 11 years
    WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW.
    • miss. Fabulousalmost 11 years
      these people made really good kites.
      • tonyalmost 11 years
        cool I would love to be there so I could play with a kite
        • ellie2003lol
          ellie2003lolalmost 11 years
          its pretty cool. i like art.
          • melalmost 11 years
            they are so prety
            • narwhallover38
              narwhallover38almost 11 years
              Cool! I love cool things like that.
              • bryce hughesalmost 11 years
                that kite tho lol
                • sabrinav
                  sabrinavalmost 11 years
                  I think it is cool how they fly the kites there was also a video of the kites.I also think it is ok to keep a memory of the ones who left us.Also there is another reason it is cool because the big parties they have
                  • yahirt
                    yahirtalmost 11 years
                    Maybe because their from a different country. Maybe different countries don't want to do the thing as other countries. I think it's good to celebrate because you remember of the loved ones
                    • alyssav
                      alyssavalmost 11 years
                      Because that want honor them in different days.Also because they want to celebrate the way to.