You can watch a video reading of A Gift For Abulita here, which is a charming children’s book about this special celebration. Here is a great list of kid’s books that highlight the actual Mexican traditions of Dia de los Muertos: I recommend this for all cultural celebrations that families might participate in.Ī great way to do this would be to read to your little ones about the heritage of this day. I would say if you’re going to include Mexican aspects and traditions to your celebrations, you will want to give credit to the culture where it came from. I reached out to many Mexican friends to ask if this was offensive to them and everyone I talked to said it wasn’t. Is it ok for all Catholics to incorporate some Mexican Specific traditions, even if they’re not Mexican? The fact that Mexican Catholics also do this doesn’t make it wrong for non Mexican Catholics to do this. In fact, it’s a long and beautiful tradition to keep a Catholic home altar going in your home all the time. It is very normal for Catholics to set up altars for various feast days and celebrations year round. If you’re setting up “Halloween decorations” that look like the Day of the Dead celebrations, give no credit to the heritage of the traditions, and have no meaning to you and no link to your own heritage… you might want to rethink that. I suppose this would really depend on how you are doing it and what your intention is, but for Catholics remembering the dead on this day and having an altar to do so, that is not cultural appropriation. ✔️ Decorating the altars with marigold flowers and bread Is having a Day of the Dead Altar Cultural Appropriation? ✔️ Colorful traditional Mexican paper banners (papel picado) ✔️ Sugar skulls as treats to symbolize the sweetness of life ✔️ Having an ofrenda, which is a specific multi tiered altar for this day (You can watch a video about ofrendas here) ✔️ Decorating graves and holding all night vigils in the grave yard Join now for instant access to May's 125+ pages of printables and resources! ✔️ Using colorful decorated skulls to symbolize mortality and the link between life and death ✔️ Praying specifically for deceased children on November 1 (Dide los Inocentes) and deceased adults on November 2 (Dide los Muertos) These traditions are specific to Mexican Catholic culture: This version doesn’t have any symbols or traditions that are specific to Mexican culture. You can also specifically see how our family sets up a November home altar to remember the dead here. ✔️ Visiting the graves of loved ones and leaving flowers ✔️ Having home altars (I have many home altar resources for Catholic families here) ✔️ Lighting candles in conjunction with praying for the dead ✔️ Praying before photographs of deceased loved ones ✔️ Remembering the dead specifically on November 1 and 2 ✔️ Going to Mass (as this is a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning attending Mass is required) The following traditions are normal for all Catholics on All Saints’ Day: Which traditions are Catholic and which traditions are Mexican? You can read here about praying for plenary indulgence during these days. Also, the first 8 days of November in particular there is an octave of praying for souls. November brings extra attention to this with the month’s special dedication to faithfully departed souls. In fact, we have an “after dinner” prayer that is prayed year round for this purpose. In the Catholic faith, we absolutely pray for the dead and the repose of their souls. All Saints’ Day is specifically for those in heaven (canonized and not), and All Souls’ Day is for the souls in Purgatory. The entire month of November is dedicated to faithfully departed souls. Let’s look at a break down of what the Catholic church teaches for the month of November. Is It Ok For Non Mexican Catholics To Celebrate The Day Of The Dead?Ībsolutely, as it is a Catholic feast day and the dead are remembered all over the world! There are many traditions from many countries where the dead are honored and remembered with altars and flowers- some of these traditions stem from Catholicism and some of them don’t, but as humans, it’s very normal to remember the dead. The celebrations can also often begin on October 31, or All Hallow’s Eve. The Day of the Dead happens each year on November 1 and 2 which do coincide with the feast days of All Saints and All Souls Days on the Catholic liturgical calendar. You can find all of my resources on living the liturgical year in November here. Today we are going to take a look at the traditions, terms, heritage, and meaning behind Dia de los Muertos, and how to celebrate as a Catholic. There is a lot of confusion around how to celebrate this occasion as a Catholic, and whether it’s for all Catholics or just those with Mexican heritage. The Day of the Dead, or as it’s known in Spanish, Dia de los Muertos, happens at the beginning of November each year.
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