Nicolás Ríos, nine years old, raised his hand to answer the name of the orange flower that Deacon Douglas Zúñiga showed to the 200 students from Catholic schools who visited the Calvary cemetery, in east Los Angeles.
“Cempasúchil!”, correctly said the child from the primary school of the Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Rose Hill church, during the visit he made with his other third grade classmates and his teacher Jessica Jiménez to the cemetery, where they honored the memory of the people already deceased.
In the prelude to the celebration of the solemnity of All Saints and All Souls, on November 1 and 2, Nicolás and students from nine Catholic primary schools received a catechesis on the true meaning of the so-called “Day of the Dead.”
“As Catholic Christians, it is important to remind children that, for us, death is not simply about playing dress-up, crying or doing scary things,” said Deacon Douglas Zúñiga. “And the Feast of All Saints reminds us that our life belongs to God.”
These are days of reflection to remember loved ones who have already died and are sleeping “the dream of peace.”
In fact, the children prayed at the All Souls Chapel, which was built in 1902, and where Bishop Thomas Montgomery offered a solemn pontifical mass at a temporary altar in the cemetery and then presided over the laying of the stone. angular.
This week, the Office of Religious Education of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and Catholic cemeteries and mortuaries joined forces to reinforce the teaching of children about the “Day of the Dead,” although some of them still have the date of the day engraved in their minds. Halloween.
“When is All Saints’ Day celebrated?” asked the deacon.
“October 30,” one girl said, “October 31,” another answered incorrectly.
With the help of the chaperones, teachers, they soon realized that they were confusing the religious celebration with the party when they went to school dressed in horror costumes and joined the famous “trick or treat” to collect candy.
Gathered at the Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum in East Los Angeles, the 200 students arrived on school buses.
No one was afraid of being there or walking among the corridors and crypts where the mortal remains of numerous people who died towards the end of the 18th century rest.
“Aside from being Catholic, we center our faith in the tradition of the Church,” said Nancy Figueroa, principal of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Elementary School in East Los Angeles. “And the Day of the Dead is a historical tradition that invites us to remember that death is part of life.”
In the Catholic Church, All Saints’ Day serves to learn about the history of those people who left as a legacy a teaching to live the love of God in holiness.
Saints can be ordinary people, from all social classes, who had a great experience of fully living the love of God in the person of Jesus.
“On those days we remember and honor our loved ones who have passed from this world to the world of God,” Deacon Zúñiga told the children.
“Thus, we reaffirm our belief in the Resurrection, as the ultimate goal of our lives, a gift that we have received from God, through the life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ,” he added.
Schools participating in the teaching included Dolores Mission (Boyle Heights), Our Lady of Guadalupe (East Los Angeles), Our Lady of Guadalupe (Rose Hill), Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (Montebello), The Resurrection (Boyle Heights) , Sacred Heart (Lincoln Heights), Saint Elizabeth (Boyle Heights), Saint Alphonsus (East Los Angeles) and Saint Lorenzo de Brindisi (Los Angeles).
“I came to pray for my grandfather,” said nine-year-old Emma Uribe. “He died before Christmas last year; “He loved me and he loved me very much, he carried me when I was a child and danced with me.”
What is the Day of the Dead?
The priest described to the students that the Day of the Dead is the name given in Hispanic culture to All Saints’ Day, and reflects the traditions of many indigenous cultures in Latin America that are now intertwined with the religious beliefs of the Catholic faith.
“People who lived in this part of the world many centuries ago used to remember their loved ones who died and build “altars” for them to honor their memory and their lives, and the love they shared with them,” Zúñiga said.
“They also offered prayers for their souls so that they would help them carry their cross in the afterlife, where they could reach their eternal resting place,” he added. He was referring to the belief about the blessed souls in purgatory.
He added that “our ancestors” had a different way of understanding what death meant.
“We tend to think that death is a tragedy, a painful experience that separates us from those we love and truncates people’s plans and desires,” he said. “For indigenous people, death was seen as a tragedy, but also as a path from existing to another way of being.”
“They were very sensitive to the many ways in which death is already present in our world and assigned meaning to that reality, which in turn helped them grow in their understanding and appreciation of death,” he said.
Incense for souls
After the catechism, the deacon spoke about the reasons for celebrating the day of the dead and explained the ritual of burning copal or incense “to guide souls through its aroma towards heaven.”
The children took some copal granules in their hands and placed them in a censer, and before doing so, they were asked to close their eyes, say a brief prayer in silence and ask God for the eternal rest of the soul of a family member. deceased.
“I asked God to take care of my great-grandmother,” said eight-year-old Oliver Rivas, an elementary student at Dolores Mission.
What was your great-grandmother’s name?
“I don’t know, but I asked God to take care of her!” the little boy responded full of innocence.
After the catechesis, the groups of students crossed in order the mausoleum of the Calvary cemetery, and in the northern part they worked at tables cutting out paper flowers, painting sugar and ceramic skulls, and at the end, they witnessed the blessing of the altars, in charge of Father Emmanuel Sánchez.
“The Church is based on tradition; The same traditions that were given to the apostles are those that are brought to our church today by the hand of the Holy Scripture,” the priest told La Opinión. “And we can always celebrate these cultural traditions, such as those that arise especially for Mexicans on the Day of the Dead, as long as it is not contrary to faith.”
“It is an opportunity for us to remember our faithful deceased who have preceded us, especially our close relatives,” he stressed. “It is always important to remember that part of our faith is to pray for them, that we are all engaged, connected in the community of Saints, whether living or dead.”
Reasons to celebrate the Day of the Dead
For Catholics, the modern celebration of the Day of the Dead reflects the deep faith of people’s ancestors and themselves, “in God’s providence and care for our loved ones who have passed from one world to the world of God.” “said the speaker.
A second reason – stated Deacon Zúñiga – “is that, on November 1 and 2, we dedicate time to remember the love they had for us, to treasure the memories that we keep in our lives (conversations, words of encouragement, their advice when we needed them and celebrations).”
“We keep their presence alive in our minds and hearts so that the next generations of our families will know them.”
As people of faith, he told the children, these days “we affirm and reaffirm our faith in the Resurrection; We believe that Jesus died for our salvation, rose from the dead on the third day, and through his Resurrection, Jesus received full life by the power of the Holy Spirit and defeated death, which no longer has power over life. ”.
The Offerings at the Altar of the Dead
In relation to the offerings or the altar of the dead, Deacon Douglas Zúñiga expressed that they represent the ascension of the soul towards God and people believe that in the three levels on which they are built, the first one contains marigold flowers, fruits , nuts and seeds, the favorite food of the deceased, salt, water and the traditional “Pan de Muertos”. They represent the human life of the person, his joys and sorrows.
On the second level you can find photographs of people who have already died, candles, more flowers and objects that they used when they were alive.
On the third floor, always at the top of the altar, symbols of the Christian faith are placed, such as a cross or crucifix, images of Jesus and Mary, rosaries, and candles.
In memory of his father
In the “All Saints” chapel of the Calvario cemetery, Verónica Reyes was in charge of setting up a “Day of the Dead” altar in memory of her father Ramón Reyes (1944-2017).
“He was a husband, dad and grandfather. A man of great faith. He always shook hands with his neighbor. He loved his family and his grandchildren. We will always remember you,” says the epitaph, to the right of the photograph of him placed, next to the image of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and in front of a huge bread of the dead.
“My father died five years ago and at home we also make his altar,” says Verónica.
“My children (Sophia, 15, Diego, 9 and Camila, 6) know the story of their grandfather, who liked geese, sweets, sweet bread, cocadas and Manzanita Sol soda,” he said. “They know that he worked in the agricultural fields in the Imperial Valley and that he harvested fruit.”
In relation to the culture, faith and tradition of the Day of the Dead, Verónica explained that her children know that their grandfather left them a lesson for life.
“Even in death I am going to teach you something,” proclaimed the late Ramón Reyes.
In fact, despite suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, he still remembered how to pray the rosary as a family.
“We celebrate because we believe in the Resurrection,” Sophia said. “My grandfather is not in one place, he is with God.”