Dia de Los Muertos & All Souls Day questions?

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OK i love the idea of building a “special altar” for my deceased loved ones, but idk how too make one lol and also is just something practiced in Mexico? and is it also a Catholic holiday(i assume so since Mexico is a Catholic country)
 
I see such altars all the time in Vietnamese Catholic homes. So while it is largely a cultural practice, there are many cultures involved. The altar in that case is a shelf or mantle with a row of pictures of the deceased loved ones. Often, there are rosaries placed on it (I suppose to remind us to pray for them).

There is normally a separate household altar for a crucifix, Divine Mercy image, etc.
 
I have both of my parents’ memorial funeral cards in a twin frame. My Dad passed over in June and his name will be included at the Mass of Remembrance that our parish holds each year for the deceased of the parish.

If you have the funds, I’d suggest purchasing a digital picture frame to download your family photos to it. The frames cost around $100 and WalMart photo centers have the scanners to get paper photos onto a disk which can then be transferred into the frame.

The frames are a great way to reconnect and remember your deceased loved ones through family photos.
 
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTBYKAsE4XfVepV2AFi_qmC6ahuMPm4wJFDmboYlWAjgAHMWhUnOQ When I moved to Colorado the Day of the Dead celebrations creeped me out until I understood they are celebrating life. Someone gave the Parish a Day of the Dead Madonna statue that I guess they thought we’d display. Poor Father!

Anything that honors your family who have passed, a wall display or a table display, maybe a memento box, all please them I am sure and remind us they are still part of our families.
 
yes All Souls day is a Catholic holy day, although not of obligation. Popular piety in different cultures may express the observance differently but it is at heart in Catholic theology a day of special prayers for the dead.
 
I live near Mexico and to my understanding La Dia De Los Muertos is a mixing of both Catholic and pre-Columbian practice.

In Mexico it’self they have elaborate altars, with bread of the dead often shaped as skulls and skeletons, on the altars they often have liqour and cigarettes and food, thing the deceased used in their earthly life. And candles as well.

A lot of people will spend the night at their dead forebearers graves. Again the cemetary will have gifts liqour, tobacco and food. The graves are decorated heavily with marigolds.

It is a party day, a celebration of life, and people beleive the deceased come back for the night figuratively and actually consume the gifts.
 
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