The following is an article authored by my wife, Melissa, which explains Mexican All Saints traditions for Americans at a Knights of Columbus party we host annually. We apologize for formatting.

Celebrations of Life
Practices of All Saints' and All Souls' Days:
Halloween and El Día de Las Muertas

The Cathedral Knights of Columbus will host a Día de Las Muertas or "Day of the Dead" celebration for families, a fully Catholic, ancient tradition of Mexico. The event will begin with Mass at the Hall and lunch, games, prizes, a children's parade, Litany of the Saints and candy will follow. The purpose of this article is to better inform interested families about this custom. This informative article was greatly aided by Father Joseph Ganssle and was reviewed by him.

I. Introduction

Halloween is a holiday observed on the evening of October 31 in most areas of North America and in some areas of Western Europe. Halloween falls on the eve of All Saint's Day. The name is derived from archaic terms for the day, Allhallows Eve. Originally a pagan festival of the dead, All Saints' Day was established by the Church in the 9th century to honor Christian saints. All Saints, on November 2nd, is a holy day established in the 10th century. The Day of the Dead or El Día de Las Muertas, the Mexican practice of All Saints' and All Souls' Days, transforms into Catholic tradition the pagan Native American celebrations of the dead.
II. Origins of Halloween—Samhain

Many of the ancient peoples of Europe marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter by celebrating a holiday in late autumn. The most important of these holidays to influence later Halloween customs was Samhain, a holiday observed by the ancient Celts. Samhain began at sundown on October 31 and extended into the following day. According to the Celtic pagan religion, known as Druidism, the spirits of those who had died in the preceding year roamed the earth on Samhain evening. The Celts sought to ward off these spirits with offerings of food and drink, a sort of precursor to the Trick-or-Treat tradition in America.
In the process of incorporating the Celts into the Church, the holiday was adopted and adapted to Christian principles; although, it was not until 835 that the holiday shed the remainder of its pagan tendencies. It was then that Pope Gregory IV sought to replace Samhain with All Saints' Day. Later, All Souls' Day was first instituted at a French monastery in 998 and quickly spread throughout Europe.

Throughout Europe costumes represent popular expressions of Catholic piety. The Irish celebrate All Saints' Day by dressing as devils to show how death and Satan have no power over Christians and how we live in the protection of God. The Irish expressions are truly meant to mock Satan and his minions. Mediaeval Europeans staged Morality Plays in which actors dressed as devils and angels representing vices and opposing virtues in real world situations as a catechetical technique. After the play the actors and audience members would go out into the community and portray the spiritual battles. Ultimately this process of costuming and the accompanying rewards became our familiar costumes and trick-or-treating.

The jack-o'-lantern is probably the most ubiquitous symbol of Halloween. It was originally carved from a large turnip rather than a pumpkin and it developed in medieval Scotland, rather than Ireland. The jack-o'-lantern derives its name from a character in British folktales. According to these tales, the soul of Jack O'Lantern was barred from both Heaven and Hell and was condemned to wander the earth with his lantern. He symbolizes purgatory, the eternal separation from the warmth of God and Jack's fate, and consequently Jack himself, are feared. The jack-o-lantern serves as a reminder to remain faithful in order avoid his punishment.

II. Origins of "Day of the Dead"—Miccailhuitontli (meek-all-wee-TONE-tlee)

The original celebration of Day of the Dead can be traced to the festivities held during the Aztec month of Miccailhuitontli (meek-all-wee-TONE-tlee), named for the goddess Mictecacihuatl (meek-tec-a-kee-WHA-tl), the "Lady of the Dead". In the Aztec calendar, this ritual fell roughly at the end of July and the beginning of August, but it was moved by Spanish Jesuits to coincide with All Hallows Eve or Día de Todos Santos (All Saints' Day).

Often, the day begins with Mass and a Rosary for loved ones who have passed to their reward. Gatherings take place in cemeteries decorated to overflowing with orange and red flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums. Incense is burned. Many families construct elaborate ofrendas or tables heaped with food and drink and lit by candles even during the day. Special loaves of bread known as pan del muerte or "bread of the dead" are baked for the holiday. It is sweet, dry bread decorated with sugar to resemble skeletons, skulls, and mummified bodies. Other food offerings are selected with a specific individual in mind, including dishes the deceased person enjoyed in life. Sometimes even gifts of coffee, cigarettes and money grace the offrenda. Despite appearances to the contrary, the people are warm, congenial and celebratory, not sad or frightened.

Gifts are sometimes exchanged from godparents and parents to children. Small tokens of affection like Saints' medals, Santos (small statues of saints), rosaries, and holy cards are common as well as the secular gifts of plastic and candy skeletons. Unusual to Americans but a frequent gift all the same is the bendita. It is not unlike the scapular in devotion and purpose and represents the incorporation of Native Americans into Catholicism; it is a dried deer's eye upon which the image of a saint is painted. It is given to bless and protect children from influence and temptation and the intentions of ill-disposed people.

III. Conclusion

There are no traditional European-American celebrations surrounding the holy days of All Saints' and All Souls' Days. Beyond Mass attendance on All Saints' Day, few families celebrate in any meaningful way. But for those who do, in attempt to avoid the common pagan manifestations of Halloween, many families attempt a secular, innocuous "harvest" theme. The secularization of Catholic feasts and holidays is shameful and the celebration is ultimately more pagan than before. This practice fails to fully celebrate the days which honor those who have passed before us into Heaven and those who have passed but who are in need of our prayers. Death is an integral part of our temporal existence as it marks the passing from this life into eternity and these holy days are tributes to this coming life. While it is natural to be cautious and respectful of death, it is only to be feared if we fail to live according to the teachings of the mother Church. All Catholics should often contemplate their lives and coming death and truly evaluate our existence and these celebrations facilitate such thought. Children are certainly no exception.

Further, there is little need to invent traditions for these feasts when there are authentic, long lived, Catholic traditions for the new world. While these traditions and customs are strikingly different from secular practices they are not pagan. Truthfully, the are the result of pagan practice absorbed by the Church and transformed into Christian tradition; however, the same can be said for many of the Church's feasts. The Christmas tree and the Easter egg are examples of the Church's moves to set aside pagan ritual and replace it with authentic Christian symbols. The painted egg, once a fertility symbol of ancient Egypt, now holds a revered place in most Catholic homes at Easter as it now is symbolic of the Resurrection. Saint Mary Magdalene is often depicted with an egg, as she was the first to see the resurrected Christ. No one refutes the Christian representation of the egg, despite its pagan origins.

To Americans, El Día de Las Muertas celebrations may appear morbid or macabre but should be interpreted with the appreciation of the cultural significance. Mexicans have little fear of death and dying in the life well lived and see it as the natural completion of the Earthly vocations. The symbols of this process, specifically the skulls, miscellaneous bones, and mummies are really signifying only the visual and tangible elements of this completion. The celebration is of life, the temporal and eternal, and death is only a touchstone, a marker if you will, separating these. The celebrations permit one to fully embrace life and all of its manifold characteristics, including this division. This necessarily means coming to terms with death's more recognizable elements.

The American avoidance of the less savory aspects of life, specifically the imagery of death, and the turning to more "harvest" associated celebrations while not specifically pagan do not fully escape the pagan themes. The earliest celebrations were centered on the harvest as a significant touchstone for the turning of time and the change of seasons. In failing to recognize the existence of death, one simply encourages the Culture of Death in which we sanitize the end of life and demean life. This is evident in the language used to promote abortion and euthanasia.

The practice of popular expressions of piety surrounding life and death in general, and the feasts of All Saints' and All Souls' specifically do not demean life in anyway. Instead, life is elevated to a revered position and we warmly recall all those who have passed into their reward as well as honoring the reward itself. While it may not be a comfortable act for many Americans who are heavily influenced by the strongly Protestant and yet Pagan dominated culture here and the accompanying fear and avoidance of death, it is a helpful practice to explore. Not all manners of devotion provide the same meaning to all people, but people should expose themselves to all manner of devotion to determine if one may satisfy their spiritual needs. Above all, the rich and meaningful celebrations of Catholic feasts should not be feared but welcomed by the community of the faithful. Protestants fear Halloween because it is intimately Catholic and Pagans fear it because it recalls their empty lives void of the sacraments and this is true whether these individuals or associations realize it or not. Catholics should take back their Catholic holiday and celebrate it happily.