Waxing Poetically: Addressing Culture with a Twist of Poetry

The altar http://www.dayofthedead.com/

Welcome to a special Monday edition of Articles of Faith.

Part 2: The Mexican Day of the Dead

Similar to Halloween in the West,In Mexican tradition, November 1 and 2 commemorate the Day of the Dead or “Dia de los Muertos” in Spanish is the celebration of those deceased members of one’s family who who were very dear to the family in life. In 1521, the Spanish conquest of the Aztec lands brought with it the fusion of Catholic at dogma and indigenous beliefs. The Day of the Dead was the result of this mixture and intertwines the two philosophies with an as a result amalgamation Aztec ritual beliefs and the imposed rituals and traditions of the Catholic church.

The day itself coincides with the Catholic All Saints’ Day on November 1, to remember the holy saint that have gone to their eternal rest, and All Souls’ Day on November 2, a day to remember those souls in Purgatory who have yet to see Paradise. But also kept are certain Aztec celebrations. Two months of the Aztec calendar were devoted to the dead. The ninth month was dedicated to infants, and the tenth month normally brought a great feast for dead adults. The feast like the Day of the Dead, was thought to move a soul out of a state of flux and into its next destination in the after world known as Mictlan - the Place of the Dead. There the soul would await a final verdict on where he or she was to be housed for Eternity among various levels (similar to the various “levels of Hell and Purgatory” in Dante Alighieri’s epic poem The Divine Comedy). The community would then pray for solace for its loved ones and enjoy a great feast in honor of those gone on to Eternity.

Today such traditions have been converted and transformed by Catholic theology. It is believed that for one day a year one’s deceased loved ones return to visit those on earth (coincidentally similarly to the Celtic beliefs mentioned in Part 1). Family and friends create an altar filled with all the things a particular loved one enjoyed in life. It is believed that the dead return to enjoy all the various things in spirit after which the family enjoys these things also. The altar includes four main elements of nature — earth, wind, water, and fire likely taken from Pre-Hispanic ritual. (Food is of key importance here as it is believed that the deceased are able to enjoy the aroma of the food). Lively parties are also had at the grave sites of the deceased and decorations fill the towns and villages including the traditional skeleton decorations which are thought to have survived from the Aztec belief that the skull was not necessarily a symbol of death, but life. Staples such as sugar skulls and “Pan de Muerto” or “dead bread” in English carry on this tradition.

Day of the Dead remains like All Hollows’ Eve a sacred celebration not of witches and evil but of family and friends, of love and devotion and at its best a joyful affirmation of life rather than a celebration of death.

Conclusion for Part 1 and 2

Both Halloween and Day of the Dead represent the often forgotten holiness of what has become a secular holiday. “Hallowed” after all, refers to “holy” or “saintly.” So “Hollows’ Eve” really translates to “The Eve of the coming of the saints.” Day of the Dead in the same vein is not a condemnation to a sudden end, but it is truly and fervently a realization of an eternal bond that says that no one is ever gone unless forgotten. Halloween and Day of the Dead - Hollowed be their names!

Source URLs:

http://www.dayofthedead.com/

http://nacnet.org/assunta/dead.htm

http://www.freep.com/article/20081101/NEWS01/811010352/1003/news01

http://hhhknights.com/curr/human/2/hellinferno.html

Wax with a lively spirit!

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