Today is All Saint’s Day, which I believe is still a holy day of obligation in the Roman Catholic Church. Like All Soul’s Day which is tomorrow it is mostly ignored in the U.S. even though it is the religious basis for yesterday’s celebration of Halloween. All-Hallow’s-Eve intermingled with the Celtic pagan festival of Samhain (summer’s end) centuries ago and evolved into today’s hyper-secularized holiday that Americans spend billions on each year. The holiday has morphed into something far more hollow than hallow, consumed as it is now with images of horror and terror intended to strike fear in our hearts.
Rather than casting death as something fearful and macabre our neighbor south of the border celebrates death - or at least the memory of the dead – during Mexico's November 1st and 2nd Day of the Dead. Día de los Muertos, a colorful holiday dedicated to the dearly departed is a distinctly Mexican holiday combining Christian tradition with the Aztec month-long summer celebration driven by the goddess Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Dead.
Although traditions are somewhat different from region to region…
they all include colorful adornments and very lively reunions at family burial plots which include food and quite possibly fireworks.
Akin in sentiment, albeit far more subdued, are Eastern European traditions, exemplified by Poland’s celebration of All Saint’s and All Soul’s Days.
Known nationally as All Saints’ Day (Dzień Wszystkich Świętych) and All Souls’ Day (Dzień Zaduszny, or Dzień Wszystkich Zmarłych) respectively, these two days of the calendar year are dedicated to prayer and paying tribute to the deceased by visiting their graves. In accordance with tradition, Catholic families all over Poland will make pilgrimages to the resting places of their relatives, tending the graves with a care that is truly touching, before laying wreaths, flowers and candles that will be kept lit throughout the length of the holiday. As night descends, the country’s graveyards are aglow with the warm light of literally thousands of flickering candles, creating an eerie, incredibly evocative atmosphere that should not be missed by anyone with a heart that still beats. – Krakow
Images of such wonderful traditions honoring the souls of the departed is quite uplifting. It saddens me to compare them to our own rather soulless Halloween celebrations. In fact the proliferation of soulless monsters who walk amongst us, presuming to dictate how we live, saddens me even more.
Zombies, Vampires – the soulless undead in our midst. Their sole purpose is to torment the living, like mosquitos.
Now that’s scary.
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