In the following article, freely adapted from a piece by Pamela Openshaw, the case is made for the English Day of the Dead - but other countries in Europe might also like to recognise such a Day.
Life is noisy and bright, death is silent and dark.
To the light we attribute goodness, to the dark fear and evil. Moving from the darkness of winter to the lightness of spring is a good time to think about death. When all about us springs into life, with new shoots, leaves and bulbs, spring lambs and new life all about us, our thoughts turn to fertility and love. But the flip side of all this is of course death, for death is waiting in the wings. It is precisely within this time of renewal and hope that we should reflect on death, not only on the death of all our loved ones, but just as vitally on a more personal recognition of our limited time on earth.