Displaced Thoughts: Día de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos (the day of the dead) is a mexican holiday where families gather in remembrance of the deceased on October 31 (All Hallows' Eve), November 1 (All Saints' Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day). In this culture, the dead and the living aren't separated, they are components of a cyclical process of coexistence. On this day, instead of mourning, it's a celebration. They welcome the spirits of the dead with music and dancing and food. They visit the cemeteries honor the dead with stories and trinkets and food. Unlike our culture, they deal with death by living alongside it and almost mocking it. They gives nicknames to death such as la calaca (the skeleton), la pelota (baldy), la flaca (skinny), or la huesada (bony). I think that the US puts too much fear and anger on death. We try to escape or cheat it, as dillard says, no man believes that he himself will die. We have these horrid funerals where everyone has to wear black and sit on hard rows of pews for hours on end. Yes, death sucks and mourning is necessary. But Americans fear the dead, they don't respect or celebrate them. And in this, we also fear old age. In the hispanic culture the elderly are revered and respected. They don't get sent to nursing homes, they are brought into the homes of their children to continue to take part in their lives. I think we need to celebrate both life and death more...