Thursday, September 4, 2008

Old Man Gloom




Now you might think this post would be rather depressing given the title. However, it is quite the contrary. Each year at the beginning of the annual Santa Fe Fiesta celebration, thousands of residents write down their troubles, hardships, problems or concerns to burn up in this 50 foot puppet known as Zozobra. People are known to burn traffic tickets, divorce papers and a myriad of other documents in Zozobra. Over 40,000 people gather at Fort Marcy park to watch their troubles literally go up in flames. It is a comforting think of your worries going up in smoke. I hope your Thursday has been peace-filled and trouble free. Viva la Fiesta!!
Namaste.

3 comments:

Charan Sachar said...

Todd,
This piece is very interesting. It is similar to the burning of Ravana (evil Indian mythology character) from the Ramayana.
Here is a link I found http://flickr.com/photos/84887465@N00/59924233/

Todd said...

Charan,
Thanks for that link! I think we all need a way to wash, burn or forget about our worries. I have found there are festivals like this all over the world. It feels good to purge once and a while.
Hope you are feeling better!
Peace!
Todd in Santa Fe

Meg Wolff said...

I like the idea of this.