Days of the Dead?

Last night, I watched La Ofrenda: The Days of the Dead along with an audience of students and other faculty. This 50-minute documentary by Lourdes Portillo and Susana Munoz highlights the “Days of the Dead” ritual honoring of the dead that families in Mexico celebrate on the first and second of November. Based on traditions going back to Columbian times, individuals prepare for visits by departed ones while, in the streets, crowds sing, dance, and let go of their inhibitions. Using anonymous male and female voiceover narration and talking head monologues, the filmmakers document celebrations of La Ofrendain Mexican villages and in Hispanic neighborhoods in San Francisco where art, religion, and the disorder of fiesta all combine in a unique ritual.

For these people, death is no stranger but an essential part of their lives, the film explains. But one expert broaches the possibility that celebrations of the dead have a more universal appeal. A San Francisco Latina activist, she declares that we all gain strength from our respective cultures. As an American of Mexican descent, lamented the loss of culture caused by crossing borders, relocating from a homogeneous culture in Mexico to the more heterogeneous U.S. To regain that connection, she suggested, we must reclaim our rituals, especially those that honor the dead.

In the U.S., instead of “Days of the Dead” we celebrate Halloween or All Hallow’s Eve and, in the Catholic church and some protestant denominations, All Saints and All Souls Days. Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced "sah-win"). To honor the dead, we must acknowledge our place in the natural world. Like every other living thing, we will die, decompose, and sometimes rejuvenate the earth, bringing back life of some kind.

The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. Samhain's long association with death and the Dead reflects Nature's rhythms. In many places, Samhain coincides with the end of the growing season. Vegetation dies back with killing frosts, and therefore, literally, death is in the air. This contributes to the ancient notion that at Samhain, the veil is thin between the world of the living and the realm of the Dead and this facilitates contact and communication. For those who have lost loved ones in the past year, Samhain rituals can be an opportunity to bring closure to grieving and to further adjust to their being in the Otherworld by spiritually communing with them.

Our own version of Samhain, All Hallow’s Eve has transformed into Halloween in our popular culture but still emphasizes death and dying, not as a source of celebration but of fear. Even the Canadian film Evil Breed: The Legend of Samhain (dir. Christian Viel) 2002 illustrates how this celebration has been coopted and assimilated into American culture and the horror genre, showing us Celtic pagans who become cannibals rather than religious worshippers during Samhain. Despite this commodification of holy rituals during Halloween, we all find ways to celebrate an honor our deceased friends and relatives. The goal, then, might be to include other living things in that ritual.