¡Día feliz de los muertos!

I'm not sure what it is about the Day of the Dead that appeals to me so, but I fo' sho' tell you that something about it does. Maybe it's living in New Mexico, where Catholicism is a not just a religion but a culture. Maybe it's all the skeleton folk art that can be found in shops and arts & crafts fairs around the city. Maybe it's the sheer novelty and shiny strangeness that attracts a white bread Okie girl like me. Cases in point:

Perhaps, though, it's the idea of welcoming the dead back into our midst in such a ceremonial and communal way that appeals to me most of all. It's a day to build altars and take food, drink and flowers to the graves of deceased loved ones, the idea being to entice the souls of the departed to return to visit the living--and let's face it, we all know there is no greater draw than food. I love the idea that we can simply call our loved ones back to us with prayers and stories and laughter and good cheese on flavorful crackers. And if you believe as I do that energy follows thought, then perhaps we can. The drawing up of memories can create an almost tangible presence; when done in numbers, that is a powerful thing, indeed.

Moi recently posted a beautiful piece of poetry by Mary Oliver that struck at the heart of things for me:

To live in this world, you must be able to do three things:

to love what is mortal; to hold it against your bones knowing your

own life

depends on it; and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.

Perhaps the greatest gift that the Day of the Dead brings us is to have the opportunity to gather and talk about those we love, those we miss so very much. I hope you have had that chance this weekend--in the most simple of ways, to laugh, to cry, to hold close and to let go. And above all, to celebrate and honor.