Dia De Los Muertos Essay

Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, from a Christian perspective was spoken about by Deborah Balyeat. She is a spanish professor at Dallas Baptist University. Dia de Los Muertos is a holiday celebrated in Mexico. The holiday celebrates and commemorates friends and family members who have passed away. The people believe that on October 31st the people who have died come back to visit them and then leave again on November 2nd.

Dia de Los Muertos is a widely celebrated holiday. Although it originated in Mexico, it is now being celebrated all over the world. The rituals have been performed for almost three thousand years. It began with the Aztecs. The Aztecs would use skulls as trophies to use during the rituals. “Unlike the Spaniards, who

viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, they embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake.” The Spaniards attempted to convert the Aztecs to catholicism. Although the majority of Mexico is now catholic, the Aztec traditions are still alive and celebrated yearly.
Professor Balyeat explains how the holiday works.

She then goes on to explain how a Christian living in this culture would handle this holiday and what the bible says about it. People in Mexico line the streets near the cemeteries with decorations and altars for the deceased. There are also altars built on the graves and at people’s homes. The altars include pictures of the dead, their favorite dish, cempazuchitl (or yellow marigolds), and skeletons.

All across Mexico, there are stores open selling skeleton candies and chocolates along with dolls and figurines. There are huge parades celebrating the spirits of the deceased. People dress up in skeleton costumes. There are also dances and performances. She explained that children in the schools would be asked to bring offerings for the altars at school. If they did not bring offerings, they would get a bad grade.

In Mexico, death is seen as funny. “The people laugh in the face of it.” said Balyeat. They celebrate the coming of the spirits. Although they do mourn for their friends and family members, they feel joy because they think that they will come back. During this holiday you will see dolls and figurines doing everyday human activities such as; dancing, playing music, getting married, and so many more things. They will have glass and candy skulls at all of the stores. There will be clothes with representations of the dead. The people see them as part of their

world.
Now, “the problem with all of this,” said Balyeat “is that none of it is biblical.” She explains her personal experiences with the holiday, along with three other peoples point of views. The first of the three had grown up in Mexico and was very familiar with the traditions. The second was a missionary child who also grew up in Mexico but was not as familiar with the traditions. The third person’s family was from Mexico, but he grew up in the United States. Balyeat asked each person a set of questions about their experience with the holiday. One of the questions was, “What was it like growing up in your home?” All three gave very different answers.
The first explained how his family participated in most of the traditions while he was growing up. He illustrated some of the altars and such for the group. After he learned about Jesus and the bible, he began to understand the errors in his worldview. The second explained how growing up in a Christian home, while surrounded by the culture was different. His parents would not allow him to bring an offering to school for the offering. He did not understand why it was a problem. He spoke about people burning things outside, and his parents making him come inside. People would burn things to scare all of the bad spirits away. The third person explained how growing up in the United States, experiencing these same traditions was different. His family had grown up in Mexico. They grew up with the festivals, candy skulls, and altars. His point of view was a little different than that of a child growing up in Mexico; but it was also different from a child growing up in the United States. It was different because, unlike the normal american children, he experienced the traditions of living in Mexico. He was not required to bring an offering to school, but was required to participate in the festivities at home. Like the first person, he came to understand what Jesus says about death and the afterlife. He stopped practicing all of the traditions also.
Balyeat began to explain what Jesus says about death and our eternity. In the bible it says,
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. Matthew 25:46” To the people who celebrate this holiday, this verse may be a bit confusing. This verse talks about where you go after you die. If you have a relationship with Jesus Christ and understand that he came as a sacrifice for you, then you will have eternity in heaven with Him. If you do not have that relationship with Him, you will get to heaven and He will say “Go away from me. You will be punished. Go into the fire that burns forever that was prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41” This celebration makes it seem like rather than going to heaven or hell, they just stay in your grave until this holiday comes and then they come out to enjoy the festivities. Christians have a responsibility to reach out to people who do not understand eternity. They need to understand that going to hell is not something to laugh at. Eternity with Jesus though, is definitely something to celebrate.
Sources
The bible (New Century Version)
http://www.niu.edu/newsplace/nndia.html
http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/dia-de-los-muertos/?ar_a=1
Deborah Balyeat
http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/holidays/day-of-the-dead/2014/09/24/day-of-the-dead-history/16174911/