Saturday, November 03, 2007

Dia de los muertos


Welcome to "The Gods Are Bored" on Dia de los muertos, Day of the Dead!

A college professor of considerable accomplishment pointed out in the comments section below that traditionally, "All Souls Day" is November 2. Considering that today is Dia de los muertos, I can only agree. Which still begs the question: Why did the local Catholic church have a special Mass on Halloween?

Another commenter thoughtfully proposed that I desist from tormenting the Catholics by pointing out to them that they were celebrating a pagan holiday. The rationale was excellent, so I hereby share:

We at "The Gods Are Bored," recognize that not all gods and goddesses are jealous, "me-and-only-me" deities. These more inclusive gods and goddesses want all people to feel the thinning of the veil between the dead and the living. All deities recognize that the deepest human suffering stems from the loss of loved ones. We at "The Gods Are Bored" celebrate any and all deities, ceremonies, and memorials that seek to bond people with those they have lost.

Dia de los muertos originated (so my shoddy research claims) with the Aztec pantheon. So today, even though many of those who celebrate this occasion will not acknowledge the Aztec deities directly while doing so, the celebrants nonetheless warm the hearts and pique the interest of the deities among whom the festival originated.

So today, when we set out a plate of vittles for our beloved departed, we at "The Gods Are Bored" are going to remind ourselves that there's nothing to be gained in a policy of "It's My Way or the Highway." Total tolerance of other peoples' faiths will pay off in the long run when enough people compare the straight and narrow to the big, broad, flexible outlook and find the latter to be more groovy.

No Roman Catholics have been harmed in the preparation of this post.

PS - Check out Tennessee Jed's awesome Jack o Lantern! He's making matters better, one pumpkin at a time.

2 comments:

BBC said...

Hon, you will never, ever, see total tolerance for all religions on this planet. Mankind has been proving that for over ten thousand years.

"Why did the local Catholic church have a special Mass on Halloween?"

Because they are morons. I can feel for the dead, but I don't have to feel for that church and religion that has caused so many problems on this planet. Hugs.

yellowdoggranny said...

most christian holidays are on pagan holidays...the pope back then decided that Jesus was a God and only way to get the pagans in line was to celebrate christian holidays on their pagan days..which is why Jesus's birthday is celebrated in Dec and not on Aug when he was actually born..or sept..I can't remember which...