Saturday 2 November 2019

How I'm Spending "The Day of The Dead" | 2019

Hello my lovelies! You may remember that last week I posted an article explaining my religion in a little bit more detail, and I explain what Halloween means to me. Today is The Day of The Dead and after receiving a lot of questions from readers and followers, I wanted to share a little bit more about what this means to me and my religion.

The Day of the Dead has been marked in the media mostly as a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular, the Central and South regions, and around the world by people of Mexican heritage. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have passed away and help support their spiritual journey. In Mexican culture, death is viewed as a natural part of the human cycle and Mexicans view it not as a day of sadness but as a day of celebration because of their loved ones awake and celebrate with them. However, Wicca's also celebrated The Day of The Dead or as we call it Samhain. Samhain marks the halfway point between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice. 

Us Wiccans celebrate a variation of Samhain as one of the yearly Sabbats of the Wheel of the Year. It is deemed by most Wiccans to be the most important of the four "greater Sabbats". Samhain is seen by some Wiccans as a time to celebrate the lives of those who have died, and it often involves paying respect to ancestors, family members, elders of the faith, friends, pets and other loved ones who have died. In some rituals, the spirits of the dead are invited to attend the festivities. It is seen as a festival of darkness, which is balanced at the opposite point of the wheel by the spring festival of Beltane, which a lot of Wiccans celebrate as a festival of light and fertility. A lot of Wiccans believe that at Samhain the veil between this world and the afterlife is at its thinnest point of the whole year, making it easier to communicate with those who have left this world.

I'm personally going to be celebrating Samhain by lighting candles and incense in my home, cooking and enjoying a big feast of yummy vegan food with my family and then snuggling up and watching Disney's Coco movie with my husband.

Do you celebrate Samhain or The Day of The Dead? What does this day mean to you? I'd love to know so please send me a tweet or a message on Instagram with your thoughts and views. Sending you all so much love!

With love, Alisha Valerie. x