Storm-tossed Haitians mark Day of the Dead

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haitians observed the Day of the Dead on Thursday but the normally raucous celebrations were muted by the death and destruction caused by Tropical Storm Noel.

Noel has killed at least 40 people in Haiti since first hitting the island of Hispaniola, which the country shares with the Dominican Republic, Sunday night.

Residents of Duvivier, a district in the seaside slum of Cite Soleil, always celebrated the two-day festival with parties lasting until dawn. But this year, there was only the sound of women pleading for help as they cried over the ruins of their collapsed houses and mourned those killed in flooding.

Some traditional Day of the Dead celebrations did take place. The National Cemetery came alive with color and singing, processions with cows and goats and chants for the deceased.

The holiday, known in Haitian Creole as “Gede,” is a festival of singing, rum-drinking and shouting meant to awaken Baron Samedi, the Voodoo spirit of the dead.