Day of the Dead, a Mexican Tradition

by Elia Cardenas, D.Min, Leadership Collaborative Associate Director and Dominican Associate of the Santa Catalina de Siena province

Dia de Muertos is a fiesta day full of colors, flavors, and aromas. It is a Mexican celebration deeply rooted in the indigenous people's traditions that commemorate the memory of their loved ones during the annual harvest of the corn. Corn is very significant in the life of the Indigenous communities; it is said that the Mayans are children of the corn, which is the basis of their daily diet. Besides, it is a sacred element of the earth. Despite Westernization, this tradition synthesizes two cultures: a blend of the indigenous people and the Roman Catholic church. We may say that the Day of the Dead feast is a sum of a cosmovision with their rituals and symbols registered as a cultural heritage by UNESCO.

The overall idea of death is different and similar at the same time in some of its practices in every culture and contextuality; it is also the source of art, poetry, rhymes, legends, jokes, songs, cuisine, parades, rites, rituals, and an ongoing list. Also, there are many controversies and questions around the tradition of the Day of the Dead in the Christian environment. Does the church accept this tradition? Aren't these things from the devil? Do the dead return on this commemoration? Should I keep the ashes of my loved ones to make their altarcito? Are the altar elements such as water, salt, and sugar skulls permissible in our Christian faith?

Why is this tradition, so beautiful and so deeply rooted in my culture, a source of such contradiction?

Setting up an Altar

This synthesis of prehispanic religious rituals and Catholic traditions is kept alive in what we call Ofrenda or Altares de Muertos. Fiesta is at the heart of our Hispanic roots, and this celebration expresses a profound sense of human relationship to the sacred—a sacred ritual action in a community that is expressed as a beautiful tradition.

The sacred ritual of setting up an altar, involves  putting the deceased’s favorite rosary, their image of Mary or Saints, their prayers, and their personal belongings in a special place in our homes. The process includes making our deceased love one’s favorite meal to put it on the altar and to share with the family, sharing the histories of their lives, moments of joy, and melancholy- everything is life, and everything is sacred. We believe in the resurrection of life and know that the dead do not return, but when we remember them and share their stories and experiences, they are once again present in us, in the sacredness of our own lives.

The offering involves the four elements of nature: earth, wind, water, and fire.

• Earth, with the fruits of the earth in the land we inhabited

• Wind, the movement, represented in the papel picado (die-cut Mexcian paper) as a light object that moves with air

• Water is the essential element that gives life and reminds us of our baptism

• Fire, a symbol of fire in the flame of the candle, the light of faith and hope

Other elements included are salt that preserves, the copal in the incense that takes our prayers to God, and the cempazuchitl, the Mexican gold flowers that give life to this meaningful tradition.

Why set up an Altar?

Nowadays, many families are fragmented because of vocations and migration, and sometimes, we cannot say goodbye to our loved ones or meaningful people in our lives. This beautiful tradition, the popular religiosity of Dia de Muertos, can give closure to some family, community, or congregational members. What can be more healing than sharing all the experiences and stories as we set up an altar with the unique symbols, treasures, or relics of a loved one? This is how we honor and remember their lives by celebrating life and resurrection. These ritual actions can be accompanied by lighting up a candle or many candles because light always defeats darkness and illuminates our lives as our dearly departed once made it.

Photos from Elia's altars.