Corcoran Austbarr
This Halloween weekend, the Mount celebrated All Saints Day, All Souls Day and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). These holidays all derive from the Catholic Church, commemorating and remembering the dead, but Dia de los Muertos has a special meaning for Mexican Catholics, the holiday being one of the most popular instances of religious inculturation.
Pope Francis, the current bishop of Rome for the Catholic Church, has spoken on the importance of inculturation in the past. He said, “In the diversity of the peoples who experience the gift of God, each in accordance with its own culture, the Church expresses her genuine catholicity and shows forth the ‘beauty of her varied face.’” In the Church, expressions of Catholicism through the lens of different cultures are invaluable to understanding the fullness of the faith.
All Saints Day, falling on Nov. 1, is a solemnity honoring all the known and unknown saints of the Catholic Church. The following day marks All Souls Day, a day of prayer and remembrance for the souls in Purgatory and the faithfully departed. Dia de los Muertos stretches across both days, and similarly includes paying respects to deceased family members.
However, Dia de Los Muertos, due to its intertwinement with Mexican culture, looks very distinct from its partnering holidays. As a part of the Dia de Los Muertos celebration, traditionally ofrendas (altars) are made for the deceased, an ofrenda being a table where things which the deceased loved are placed along their pictures. This is meant to honor a loved one and remember what made them who they were.
In recent years, dressing up as “death” has become more integrated into the celebration. Popularized by Chicanos (people of Mexican descent born in the United States), some paint their faces and adorn elaborate “death” costumes to honor this often-hushed aspect of life, showing how Dia de Los Muertos is a time to heal and accept death as a friend rather than an enemy.
Though many tend to forget the Catholic roots of Dia de Los Muertos, the holiday certainly underlines several truths the Church holds dear, such as how the community of the Church is everlasting. Even when someone passes, they are still a part of the Church body, and can be honored, prayed for and in some instances even prayed to.
Not only this, but the sentiment of Memento Mori (Remember Your Death) is very much alive in this holiday. Ancient Christians often kept skulls on their desks for this very reason, a symbol at the center of Dia de los Muertos. We will all pass, and these Catholic observances remind us that this is not a bad thing. They invite us to see death as a friend, and to remember that Christ, the Lord of the dead and the living, overcame death.
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