Dia De LosMuertos - Day of the Dead

[Horton]

Is this a Catholic celebration? I know what it is and what it means from a cultural perspective in the Latino culture. In the last parish I belonged to this celebration pretty much took over All Souls and All Saint’s days. Now that it’s coming up again I just wondered if this was a common Catholic celebration.

 

[Wesrock]

As an American Catholic who grew up in New England, I had only heard of it as a Mexican/Central American thing. It seems like a celebration that predated the Church’s arrival but has been adapted to coincide with All Saints and All Souls Days. The Church resisted it early on, seeing it as syncretization, though maybe not so ugh anymore. It hasn’t spread to my knowledge much into the USA, excepting maybe immigrants. I don’t know enough to really comment on how the Church sees it today.

 

[1ke]

Is this a Catholic celebration? I know what it is and what it means from a cultural perspective in the Latino culture. In the last parish I belonged to this celebration pretty much took over All Souls and All Saint’s days. Now that it’s coming up again I just wondered if this was a common Catholic celebration.

No. this is not a day in the liturgical calendar. It is not Catholic. All Saints and All Souls are feast days.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Day of the Dead is a Mexican pre-Christian celebration which was Christianized by making it coincide with the Catholic Holy Days All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

 

[GEddie]

Day of the Dead is a Mexican pre-Christian celebration which was Christianized by making it coincide with the Catholic Holy Days All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

It has been co-opted into the Catholic practice in Chicano areas of TX and probably CA, as well as Mexico proper, but is not liturgical per se.

Even in Mexico, many of the practices connected with it have started to be dropped.

ICXC NIKA

 

[pianistclare]

It has been co-opted into the Catholic practice in Chicano areas of TX and probably CA, as well as Mexico proper, but is not liturgical per se.

Even in Mexico, many of the practices connected with it have started to be dropped.

ICXC NIKA

Right. It has devolved into a marketing machine in the Southwest. Kids (teens) love the artwork…

Pretty ugly but colorful stuff.

 

[Neofight]

Its a huge deal in our parish and diocese, not to be confused with the secular celebrations common here, having transformed from an old pre-Christian cultural celebration of native peoples of the Americas into a modern celebration that embraces rather than detracts from what the Church celebrates in the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls.

 

[DlandFan06]

Is this a Catholic celebration? I know what it is and what it means from a cultural perspective in the Latino culture. In the last parish I belonged to this celebration pretty much took over All Souls and All Saint’s days. Now that it’s coming up again I just wondered if this was a common Catholic celebration.

I thought it was a pagan thing.

 

[Used2beSherryG]

It is the latino version of our own pagan Halloween, which has devolved into a worship of all things evil. The Eve of All Saints Day was a time of prayer. Now it is a secular nonsensical celebration of our own idiocy.

 

[GEddie]

It is the latino version of our own pagan Halloween, which has devolved into a worship of all things evil. The Eve of All Saints Day was a time of prayer. Now it is a secular nonsensical celebration of our own idiocy.

IMINWHO, Halloween is worse. DDLM was originally a pre-Christian day of remembrance of the dead, and of hope that life would survive death. Halloween is a post-Christian celebration of death, full stop.

ICXC NIKA

 

[christofirst]

Dia de los Muertos is very much embraced by both Church and secular culture here in Los Angeles, so much that it sometimes seems to overshadow the Solemnity of All Saints. I was searching online for times and locations for a Vigil Mass for All Saints Day, and most of what came up instead was Day of the Dead celebrations at many of our local churches and Catholic cemeteries.

 

[Horton]

Dia de los Muertos is very much embraced by both Church and secular culture here in Los Angeles, so much that it sometimes seems to overshadow the Solemnity of All Saints. I was searching online for times and locations for a Vigil Mass for All Saints Day, and most of what came up instead was Day of the Dead celebrations at many of our local churches and Catholic cemeteries.

I was a bit put off when my previous parish built this up so much and the Feasts of All Saints & All Souls was basically left out of the whole thing. In my original parish I had never even heard of it and it has a large Hispanic population. When I moved to the next parish I was surprised to see it made to be a seemingly Catholic celebration.

My current parish doesn’t seem to be promoting it. We are having Mass for All Saints & All Souls.

 

[Horton]

IMINWHO, Halloween is worse. DDLM was originally a pre-Christian day of remembrance of the dead, and of hope that life would survive death. Halloween is a post-Christian celebration of death, full stop.

ICXC NIKA

I’m not a huge fan of Halloween either. I live far out in the country now so I don’t get trick or treaters but when live in town I just turned off the porch light to let people know I wasn’t passing out treats.