Thursday, November 01, 2007

The Day of the Dead--All Saint's Day

A good friend of mine from college and law school, Carol, told me about how she and her brother would torture their faithful--but forgetful--Catholic mother when they were kids. Catholics have Holy Days of Obligation which are days other than Sunday where attending mass is required for the saving of the soul. Carol and her brother on days like Ash Wednesday (always a Wednesday, but not the same Wednesday each year) and All Saint's Day (always Nov. 1 but could fall on any day of the week) would wait until around bedtime--always after the last mass of the day had ended--and question their mother, "Hey mom, today was a Holy Day, wasn't it?" This would of course send her into a fit of pique as she anxiously worried about the salvation of her family until she could drag herself and her family to the next confession.

Nov. 1 is All Saint's Day or The Day of the Dead one of the Holy Days. People around the world will "commune" with the spirits of their departed ancestors. I located this article on how to make your own Day of the Dead Altar in case you'd like to commemorate your departed loved one today in the Latino style.

Now its time to read my copy of The Complete Idiots Guide to Psychic Awareness that I picked up in the checkout line of the grocery store. I'm not sure which of my deceased family members' spirits I want to try to communicate with today...

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