This Illuminated Billboard in Albuquerque Hopes to Change the Way People Feel About Death

A strangely warm memento mori

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The modern Westerner is bad at death, especially so at the prospect of managing our own. The result is that it's treated glibly—like in slasher films—or pushed to the sidelines of our communities. Mourning, even within a family, is an isolated act, quarantined from the rest of our lives. 

It's a bit melodramatic, frankly. 

There's a holiday tradition in New Mexico, where businesses and homeowners line sidewalks and driveways with lit votive candles inside brown paper bags.

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