"When the Saints Come Marching In"

Soon to be a Walt Disney movie: Dia de los Muertos.  The folks at Disney tried to trademark the phrase, which means “Day of the Dead”, but they ended their efforts after public outrage, including that of one clever artist who drew a cartoon of a “fanged ‘Muerto (Mickey) Mouse.’” (WSJ 11/1/13)  Apparently the idea of a dead Mickey drove home the point that trying to claim exclusive use of what is becoming an international celebration was not a good idea.  You see, on this Saturday 35,000 people are expected to attend what may be the world’s largest gathering designed to honor the dead at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  People are going to party in celebration of the dead spirits which some believe come back to earth on November 1 and 2.  Those who believe in this event build altars to their departed loved ones, waiting for their spirits to come to the party. The participants dress up in special masks and clothing. They dress out the trunks of the departed cars with memorabilia and the favorite drinks and food which they enjoyed in life.  Nestle, the chocolate company, is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for the largest Day of the Dead altar in the U.S. using female skeletons (“Catrinas”) enjoying their Mexican- style products.

Now, if this all sounds an awful lot like Halloween, it is not the same celebration.  Halloween was designed to keep the spirits away on October 31, so  people would dress up in disguises so as to avoid detection by the roaming spirits who might be looking for them.  Churches held special “All Hallow’s Eve” services to ward away the spirits until the dawn of All Hallows (Saints) Day on Nov. 1, which was the celebration of the saints in heaven, which was a prelude to All Souls Day on Nov. 2, which was a celebration of souls who had not yet quite made it to heaven but were on the way.  These are all practices which go back to at least the 500’s.  The more things change…you know the rest.

Human beings sure do spend a lot of time thinking about what happens to people after they die.  Is there life after death and if so, what does it look like?  I have no idea what the folks at Pixar Animation Studios are dreaming up for a movie about trying to attract roaming spirits on Dia de los Muertos, but I have a funny feeling it will create yet another challenge for parents who are trying to teach the truth to their children: when the saints do come marching in, it will not be as spirits. The saints, and that’s all who believe, will have perfect flesh and bones bodies designed to live forever, and they are arriving on the day of the living.  Now, that would be a movie worth watching.