Music: I Will Remember You
Today, November 2nd
Is ‘The Day of the Dead’
A day for honoring them
Not a day filled with dread
A day celebrated by Hispanic people
And by many Native American bands
My wife and I have been to remembrances
In America’s Southwest which are truly grand
Friends and relatives visit gravesides
Of their most dearly departed souls
They leave tokens of love and affection
And line their headstones with Marigolds
These orange flowers are called Flor De Muerto
They’re believed to attract the souls of the deceased
Some folks even prepare special family meals at home
Leaving a special plate for their loved ones at the feast
My own departed grandmother’s spirit visited me
One Dia De Los Muertos many, many years ago
And I was fortunate to glimpse my father’s spirit
As he left this realm, this I truly know in my soul
We should all heed and honor the reverence of this day
And all remember each of our loved ones, who are gone
Those who’ve passed before us and taught us how to live
Those who still linger in our hearts and souls, every dawn
More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to them to mock death.
It was a ritual that these indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years. A ritual that the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate, believing it to be pagan and sacriligeous.
But like the old Native spirits, this ritual of honoring the dead on Dia De Los Muertos has refused to die. And today, it is still celebrated in Mexico, and in many parts of the U.S.
©2008, Mr. Ed
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Here, here!! Thanks for your poetic talent!!
Lance
Beautiful write Ed!Made me remember many things about this day.
Tiger Lily
And all remember each of our loved ones, who are gone
Good advice: the real meaning of "All Soul's Day" I knew the Catholic line on it, but it was great to get the N.A. and Hispanic angle from a master historian/writer.
Fond remembrances of your loved ones...Mike
Christine
fee
The "pagan" label has always been interesting. In the days of the Conquistadores, a non-Catholic was likely a pagan. Our modern dictionaries do not define the word much better. Webster's New Dictionary of the English Language says "pagan" means "country dweller," and elsewhere, I've seen it defined as "...anyone whose belief is not Christian, Jewish, or Moslem. Wonderful non-definition which includes almost two-thirds of the world's religious population.
Good one Ed :-)
Ted
CarolHawks
Art Sun...
Today all religious denominations recognize that the celebration is one of respect, remembrance and over all Family!
Great one brother.
Georg
(((HUGS))) and love, Karla. :(
(((HUGS))) and much love, your friend in Tx., Karen Lynn. :(
Sandie Angel :o)