All Soul’s Day – 2nd November?
Annie s asked:
I’ve been told that on this day certain third-world countries inc. Peru and Mexico, exhume their dead relatives and take them home for the day.
Apparently Spain also carried out this practice until about 50 years ago. Is this true… surely not?
Posted in: Religion & Spirituality.
Tagged: Dead Relatives · Mexico · Peru · Spain · Third World Countries
No, not in the slightest
My Answer: Not!… and quit calling me shirley!
wow that is so weird, nasty, and strange
What difference does it make? Nobody’s asking you to do it.
Not “Peru” and “Mexico”, but some of the people who live there, other places as well. The practice can be traced back to Abraham’s time.
The true All Souls’ day is November 2. November 1 is All Saints’ Day.
Not true.
No exhumation is done. They make sugar skulls and treat them as if they were dead relatives.
Exhuming the dead is a great taboo in christian cultures…
Not true, at least in Mexico and the US….they do, however celebrate Dia de los muertes (day of the dead) on that date and go to cemeteries with candy and sweets and offerings, and decorate the graves.
Not exhume. In some sunny, dry countries, bodies tend to mummify naturally and are stored in caves rather than buried. Those are the places where this is most likely to happen.
No, but they do go and party with them in the graveyards, and decorate with skeletons for the Day of the Dead. It’s basically the populist response to the Catholic church taking over the pagan Halloween and turning it into All Saint’s Day. It’s supposed to be the time of the year when the veil between the living and dead is thinnest.
I thought it was the first hence all hallows eve the night before I do not believe what you suggest.
No, that’s not true, for it is believed that the dead are no longer inhabiting their bodies, but live as spirits or souls, minds, or consciousnesses. They are seen as being in the care of God, may be enfolded with love and light by our offering of prayers and the holy Mass on their behalf, and they return as spirits to visit their loved ones on November 2nd. The following information is from the University of California:
Nov 1 & 2
Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead (Mexico, Central America). Traditionally, it is a day to celebrate and honor one’s ancestors. It’s based on the belief that there is interaction between the living world and the world of spirits. On the Día de los Muertos, the almas, or the spirits of the dead, are said to come back for family reunions. Many celebrate setting up ofrendas (altars) in their homes to honor the memory of deceased loved ones and to welcome their visiting souls. Others visit their loved one’s cemetery plot and decorate it with flowers, candles and food. The holiday is celebrated with family and community gatherings, music, and feasting, and the festivity of its observance acknowledges death as an integral part or life.