Malta Edition
World Family Photo Box Day leads today's complete edition for Malta.
Daily Edition
Official observances, world days, local context, and everyday celebrations for people who need something worth reading, sharing, or talking about today.
A day for printed pictures, old phones, albums, names written on backs, and the people a household remembers together.
Families visit cemeteries with food, drink, and music, spending the day at the graveside of their loved ones. In Bolivia, you eat with the dead, you drink with the dead, and you tell stories about the dead until everyone is laughing. Grief here has room for joy.
Less elaborate than in Mexico, but still observed. Families gather, remember loved ones, and share food and stories. The cemeteries fill with flowers and the abuela tells stories about the family members you never met but feel like you know.
The day after All Saints' Day is for praying for the souls of the dead, and the tradition is to visit the graves of family members and light candles. The cemeteries are full of people, and the candles create a sea of light. The Maltese believe that the dead are not gone but are waiting, and the prayers help them on their journey. The tradition of praying for the dead goes back to the earliest days of Maltese Christianity, and the catacombs of Rabat contain evidence of Christian burials from the 2nd century AD. The Maltese also bake the "gudbej" (a sweet pastry made with honey and almonds) and leave it on the graves of their loved ones.
