Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Día de los muertos (Day of the Dead) is a festive celebration in memory of those who have died. Its origins in Mesoamerica go back over 3,000 years, even though it was shaped by two Roman Catholic holidays: All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2). In Spanish, All Saints Day and All Souls Day are known as El Día de Todos los Santos and El Día de los Muertos, respectively.
In southern and central Mexico, Día de los muertos entails many traditions: building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.
Some themes: remembrance, grief, cycle of life and death, honoring those who have gone before us.
Please note that this holy day is a distinctly Mexican holiday, though some in other Latin American countries have adopted it. For that reason, it's neither respectful nor appropriate for white congregations to initiate its celebration in worship. In the words of Rev. Marisol Caballero, "When white people 'celebrate' el Día de Los Muertos not as the personal, invited guest of Mexicans, it feels to me like someone has crashed a family funeral or a wake."
To learn more about why UU congregations celebrating this day encroaches on the hurtful territory of cultural appropriation, please take the time to review the video in the sidebar.
As a matter of cultural competency, WorshipWeb encourages our Unitarian Universalist congregations to use the Spanish name "Día de los muertos," rather than translating it into "Day of the Dead" in church announcements, programs, emails, etc. There are many holidays that retain their native language (Yom Kippur, Kwanzaa, Rosh Hashanah, etc.), and we seek to make this one of them.
Please make sure to use the correct spelling of all words, which includes accents. Here's a tip for getting the í in Día:
- Windows: press Ctrl+' then the vowel (Ctrl+' then i = í)
- Mac: press Option+E, then the vowel (Option+E then i = í)
- iOS: press and hold I until a menu of accented characters appears
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Chalice Lighting for a Memorial Service
Chalice Lighting for a Memorial Service (WorshipWeb)Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), 7th Principle (Interconnected Web), Death, Forgiveness, Healing, Love, Meaning, Purpose, Sacred, Sorrow, Strength, Truth -
More Than One Life
More Than One Life (WorshipWeb)by Lee Huebert -
Moving Meditation for Día de los Muertos
Moving Meditation for Día de los Muertos (WorshipWeb) -
Never Fully Extinguished
Never Fully Extinguished (WorshipWeb)Tagged as: 1st Principle (Worth & Dignity), Acceptance, Death, Ending, Grief, Healing, Letting Go, Sadness -
Ritual for The Day of the Dead/All Souls
Ritual for The Day of the Dead/All Souls (WorshipWeb) -
They Are with Us Still
They Are with Us Still (WorshipWeb) -
Immortality
Immortality (WorshipWeb)Tagged as: Death, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Grief, Immanence, Mystery, Spirituality, Unitarian Universalism, Wholeness -
Litany for Those Lost to Climate Change
Litany for Those Lost to Climate Change (WorshipWeb)by Erica Baron -
Love Does Not Disappear
Love Does Not Disappear (Braver/Wiser)by Elea KemlerTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Awe, Death, Direct Experience, Generations, Grief, Love, Mystery, Sorrow -
Prayer of Remembrance
Prayer of Remembrance (WorshipWeb)by Lori WalkeTagged as: 4th Principle (Truth & Meaning), Death, Direct Experience, Family, Generations, Grief, Honesty, Love -
This Sacred Thread
This Sacred Thread (WorshipWeb) -
United by Story and Bound by Love
United by Story and Bound by Love (WorshipWeb)