Religious Education Update: October 26, 2008
El Dia de los Muertos
Long ago in Mexico, before the Spanish conquest, people believed that end of life was a transition into another world. Where one traveled in the afterlife depended more on the cause of one’s death, than on the merits of one’s life. There were special places near the edges of the earth, for people who died special deaths, such as women who died in childbirth, warriors, or those who had been sacrificed for the gods. The souls of most people traveled through the underworld, until they reached Mictlan, the final resting place. Out of this ancient mythology, grew the observance of El Dia de los Muertos, a happy time when the spirits of the dead would return to the surface to be reunited with their families.
The Spanish conquerors attempted to convert the Mexican people to what the Spanish considered the true faith: the Catholicism that they brought from Europe. However, the holiday of El Dia de los Muertos, continued to be celebrated in Mexican villages, and the Catholic Church eventually realized it wouldn’t go away. Hundreds of years later, the holiday continues. This year in Petaluma, our neighboring church of St. Vincent’s, participates in El Dia de los Muertos celebrations with its parishioners.
Today the children will go on an Altar Walk in downtown Petaluma to see many artistic celebrations of the holiday. They’ll learn that the Day of the Dead is a time to remember family and friends who are dearly missed. It is also a time to honor ancient beliefs that continue to live in the hearts and minds of people. Perhaps the children will learn to appreciate the enormous power of certain traditions to speak to people’s deepest yearnings to be connected through time to those who lived before us.
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
Long ago in Mexico, before the Spanish conquest, people believed that end of life was a transition into another world. Where one traveled in the afterlife depended more on the cause of one’s death, than on the merits of one’s life. There were special places near the edges of the earth, for people who died special deaths, such as women who died in childbirth, warriors, or those who had been sacrificed for the gods. The souls of most people traveled through the underworld, until they reached Mictlan, the final resting place. Out of this ancient mythology, grew the observance of El Dia de los Muertos, a happy time when the spirits of the dead would return to the surface to be reunited with their families.
The Spanish conquerors attempted to convert the Mexican people to what the Spanish considered the true faith: the Catholicism that they brought from Europe. However, the holiday of El Dia de los Muertos, continued to be celebrated in Mexican villages, and the Catholic Church eventually realized it wouldn’t go away. Hundreds of years later, the holiday continues. This year in Petaluma, our neighboring church of St. Vincent’s, participates in El Dia de los Muertos celebrations with its parishioners.
Today the children will go on an Altar Walk in downtown Petaluma to see many artistic celebrations of the holiday. They’ll learn that the Day of the Dead is a time to remember family and friends who are dearly missed. It is also a time to honor ancient beliefs that continue to live in the hearts and minds of people. Perhaps the children will learn to appreciate the enormous power of certain traditions to speak to people’s deepest yearnings to be connected through time to those who lived before us.
Marlene Abel
Director of Religious Education
posted by Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma @ 8:37 PM
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