Tradition and truth

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LINDSAY MAST, HOST: Today is Thursday, November 6th.

Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Lindsay Mast.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

Coming next on The World and Everything in It: Being in the world but not of it.

CLIP: It’s Día de los Muertos. No one’s going anywhere. Tonight is about family. Ofrenda room. Vamanos.

MAST: Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, became better known to Americans with Pixar’s 2017 film Coco. In Mexico, the nationwide holiday is celebrated across two days, November 1st and 2nd. Mexicans spend these days celebrating, remembering, and honoring deceased family members.

REICHARD: But the customs of these two days are rooted in ancient Mesoamerican cultures that worshiped the dead. So, while the sentiment is heartfelt, many Christians in Mexico do not participate.

WORLD Associate Correspondent Elisa Palumbo went to Mexico and spoke with Christians and non-Christians about these traditions.

AUDIO: [Sounds of flower petals rustling]

ALEJANDRA: Esta es la flor cempasúchil...

ELISA PALUMBO: A cross of marigolds on the sidewalk marks the start of the path Alejandra Leiva believes her ancestors must follow for the offering that awaits them.

ALEJANDRA: Siempre, siempre, siempre debe haber cempasúchil porque su aroma de insisto, esta es un es un concepto prehispánico, es el que atrae a los muertos.

TRANSLATION: There must always, always, always, be marigolds because of their scent—again, this is a pre-Hispanic concept—it is what attracts the dead.

The path ends with another cross of marigolds and potted marigolds at the foot of a round table. That’s the traditional ofrenda, or offering. The one Levia’s family made is filled with candles and photos of their dead ancestors. It also includes the food, fruit and drinks they loved when alive.

ALEJANDRA: En esta ofrenda están los papás de mi mamá ya fallecidos, los dos está el papá de mi papá. Hay fotografías de familia de mi mamá que vivieron en un pueblito en el estado de Puebla.

TRANSLATION: In this offering we have my mother's parents, who have both passed away, as well as my father's father, who was a soldier. There are also photos of my mom’s family who lived in a small village in the state of Puebla.

These decorations are traditional for Day of the Dead celebrations across Mexico. The holiday began with the Aztec and Mexica civilizations. Back then, they held month-long festivals for the dead during the harvest. When the Spanish came to Mexico in the 1500s, these festivals fused with Catholic feasts of All Saints and All Souls days on Nov. 1st and 2nd. Yet, most of Mexico’s current Day of the Dead customs are pagan.

ALEJANDRA: Es mexicano el concepto no es católico que lo hayan traído los europeos o los españoles.

TRANSLATION: The concept is Mexican, it is not Catholic or something that was brought by Europeans or the Spanish.

SOUND: [Music playing at one grave while people laugh and walk around the cemetery]

In some towns like Acolman, roughly 30 minutes Northeast of Mexico City, people will clean and decorate their loved ones’ tombs. Wendy Juarez sits on the edge of her mother’s raised grave and outlines it with marigolds. For Juarez, Day of the Dead is about remembering her mother who died 8 years ago:

WENDY: Pues principalmente es algo muy bonito no porque mientras nosotros lo recordemos ella va a seguir viva puedan pasar 1000 años mientras nosotros lo estemos recordando ella sigue viva aquí con nosotros

TRANSLATION: Well, primarily, it is something very beautiful, right, because as long as we remember her, she will continue living; a thousand years can pass, as long as we are remembering her, she stays alive here with us.

Many, like Juarez, find comfort in believing their loved ones are near. Some say their ancestors are always with them and watching over them. But it’s at midnight on November 1st when their dead relatives actually come back to spend time with them. They say their ancestors have visited because of what happens to the food and drink from the offerings.

WENDY: Cuando pasan los días agarras tú una guayaba te la comes y no tiene sabor o sea y tú dices sí es cierto o sea sí vienen y sí se llevan el sabor sí se llevan porque si tú dejas una guayaba y la dejas una semana tiene el mismo sabor pero si tú la agarras y te la comes pasando estos días no tiene sabor no tiene nada de sabor la comida

WENDY TRANSLATION: When the days go by, you grab a guava, you eat it, and it has no taste. That is, you say yes, it’s true, yes, they do come and do take the taste, they take it because if you leave a guava and leave it for a week, it has the same taste, but if you grab it and eat it after these days, it has no taste, the food has no taste at all.

This belief of the dead returning is an issue Christians in Mexico have with Day of the Dead. Pastor José Vargas says it’s really problematic. He pastors a church in Juarez’s town of Acolman. Although he’s Mexican, he’s never celebrated Day of the Dead. Growing up as a Christian, he knew this holiday was not Biblical and didn’t align with his faith.

JOSE: Hay gente que, por ejemplo. Pone un vaso de agua un vaso de agua está dos o tres días se evapora el agua aunque no esté a temperatura pero se evapora y claro que va a disminuir es que vino mi abuelita a tomarse su agüita no no vino tu abuelita agarra la onda o sea se evaporó

TRANSLATION: There are people who, for example, put out a glass of water. After two or three days, the water evaporates, even if it’s not hot—but it evaporates, of course it’s going to go down. They say, ‘Oh, my grandmother came to drink her water.’ No, your grandmother didn’t come, get real—it just evaporated.

But Vargas doesn’t deny all the experiences people have had with their offerings changing. He thinks things like this can happen, but if it does, it definitely isn’t a deceased relative.

JOSE: O sea, el diablo es diablo y se viste como ángel de luz.

TRANSLATION: I mean, the devil is the devil, and he disguises himself as an angel of light.

Vargas references Deuteronomy 18 to illustrate how these traditions go directly against God’s word. In the passage, God forbids the Israelites from practicing sorcery, divination, and consulting with the dead.

JOSE: Nosotros como cristianos, podemos ver esto como una instrucción para nosotros también no podemos participar de costumbres paganas que son contrarias a la voluntad de Dios. Aquí específicamente habla de no consultar a los muertos por un lado, el equivalente al asunto que se está dando en en el país actualmente.

TRANSLATION: As Christians we can see this as an instruction for us as well; we cannot participate in pagan customs that are contrary to the will of God. Here it specifically mentions not consulting the dead on the one hand, which is essentially what is happening in the country today.

Many outside of Mexican culture might see Day of the Dead as a beautiful tradition to commemorate lost loved ones. But Angelina Cruz has a different perspective—a perspective she gained after she started reading her Bible.

ANGELINA: Cuando yo leí eso que que que los muertos ya no pueden venir para nada para acá ya no pueden ni no pueden entonces yo empecé a pensar esto es una mentira este a hacerle culto a los muertos poner ofrendas.

TRANSLATION: When I read that the dead can no longer come back here at all—they just can’t—I started to think, this is a lie, this whole thing of worshiping the dead and putting out offerings.

Cruz grew up in Mexico City and watched her mother set up altars to her deceased relatives so she carried on the tradition. That changed when she became a Christian.

ANGELINA: Es una forma de adorarle rindiéndole culto, porque le están poniendo lo mejor le están adorando. Porque si tú eres eres cristiano, ya no debes de participar de los pecados del mundo

TRANSLATION: It’s a way of worshiping them, paying them tribute, because you’re giving them the best—you’re worshiping them. If you are a Christian, you should no longer take part in the sins of the world.

When people now ask her if she puts up offerings for her deceased, she’s quick to say no. Then she tells them to read their Bible and insists that their dead cannot return.

ANGELINA: Acá en el Día de Muertos estoy celebrando a que a quien Jesús venció a la muerte. Jesús venció a la muerte y le están dando honor es culto catrinas Qué hermosas no es bueno

TRANSLATION: Here, during Day of the Dead, I’m celebrating the one that Jesus defeated—death. Jesus conquered death, and people are honoring it, paying tribute to it with skulls–”how beautiful they are”-- that’s not good.

Cruz no longer feels the need to venerate the dead, nor finds comfort in the idea of them watching over her. Instead, she rests secure in the resurrection of Christ.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Elisa Palumbo in the greater metropolitan area of Mexico City.

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