The Rochas note that “Scripture is very clear regarding death: it is the last enemy to be destroyed (1 Cor. Jesus taught us to celebrate life and that death is no longer triumphant,” says Baez Camargo. “This celebration is in reality the worship of death. Many evangelical churches hold all-night prayer meetings and evangelistic outreach efforts during these especially dark days.Īt the core of many Mexican Christians’ objections to Día de Los Muertos is its celebration of death. “Our participation during these days is that of witnessing,” says Cruz. Gilberto Rocha and his wife, Clara, pastors of the megachurch Calacoaya, say the normalization of Día de los Muertos shouldn’t be a big factor: “Our basis should be the Word of God and not culture or what is in style.” Daniel chose not to contaminate himself with things offered to them.” Pastor Cirilo Cruz, president of the National Evangelical Fraternity of Mexico, states, “Every altar to the dead has idols. “Under no circumstance should a truly born-again believer celebrate the Day of the Dead,” says Victoriano Baez Camargo, pastoral leader and former director of the Mexican Bible Society. I haven’t found any evangelical Christians in Mexico who would actively participate in this tradition in which our culture, like the prophet Daniel’s, pushes us to compromise our worship of the one true God. I asked other Mexican evangelical leaders to weigh in, and they were very consistent on the issue. Like other evangelicals in Mexico, I believe the Day of the Dead is about honoring death-not just the dead-and taking part (consciously or unconsciously) in occult practices that God forbids his people to engage in (Deut. However, there is a dark spiritual side to the holiday that has steadily increased and become more obvious and unrestrained. Some people see the Day of the Dead as simply a Mexican cultural art form and a family-friendly celebration: colorful, decorative, and dramatic, even somewhat romantic. My children had similar experiences when they were in Mexico City schools. My peers were always upset that I would not do my part to decorate the class altar to the dead. Some years I flunked the course, and other years I was allowed to present another project. My mother would say, “I am sorry, but as evangelical Christians, we cannot be part of this celebration, even if it means Sally will not pass the course.” She would then ask the teacher if there was any way that I could make up for not participating.
Sally Isáis (Mexico City, Mexico): Christians shouldn’t participate at all, given the nature of the holiday.Įvery mid-October before the Day of the Dead, my parents would receive a note from my Mexico City school saying, “If your daughter does not bring her part for the classroom offering, she will flunk civics class.” Celebrations vary by region, but they have much in common: altars with offerings to dead relatives, skull-shaped sugar candies, marigolds, incense, votives, and food candlelit cemeteries tissue-paper cutouts and calaverita (“little skull”) decorations everywhere.ĬT asked Christians who’ve been in ministry in places where the Day of the Dead is celebrated, “Can Christians participate in good conscience? If so, how?” It has roots both in the Catholic observances of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days and in indigenous Mexican beliefs about the dead.Īccording to the ancient religion of Mexico, Day of the Dead traditions help the spirits of the dead return to their families, keeping them happy and forestalling the difficulties the dead could inflict on the living. El Día de los Muertos, translated as the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday also celebrated in many US communities.
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