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Mon 08 Aug 2008A day that's alive with meaning
Road traffic laws are suspended, hundreds crowd the churches and communities come together during the vibrant tradition of Cemetery Sunday, with Rosita Boland
THROUGHOUT JULY AND August in parishes all over rural Ireland, large crowds gather at churches for the annual ritual that is known as Cemetery Sunday. This is the day of the year when long-scattered families come together with those who have remained in the area, and for one significant day, they briefly form a community again as they honour their dead relatives. A special Mass is followed by a blessing of the graves, which will have been cleaned and tidied in the preceding days.
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