All Saints Day, Feast of All Souls and Dia de los Muertos are three celebrations that reflect connected theology and diversity of culture. Like other popular celebrations it is not always clear what is actually liturgical and those customs embraced by the culture and people that have been brought into the Church and become part of the local tradition.  The articles and video below will help you to understand these celebrations.

It is interesting to note the similarities between the American Catholic tradition of the Book of the Dead and the displays of the people of Central America that identify the dead by symbols. One tradition is born of a culture that represents the memory of those who have died with written word. The other is born of a culture where the memory of those who have died are recalled through the symbols of pictures, what the loved one liked and ate and the symbol of the after life for their culture which is the skull. Neither are  liturgical. Both are based in the culture of their origin.  Both seek to help the community to remember, not only those who have died, but also that they live on,that they can be touched by our memories and assisted through our prayers.   

All Saints Day

All Saints Day is the day on which Catholics celebrate the communion of saints, all the saints, known and unknown, those living in the pilgrim Church and the Church triumphant. It is a surprisingly old feast. It arose out of the Christian tradition of celebrating the martyrdom of saints on the anniversary of their martyrdom. When martyrdom increased during the persecutions of the late Roman Empire, local dioceses instituted a common feast day in order to ensure that all martyrs, known and unknown, were properly honored.

Quick Facts:
    Date: November 1
    Type of Feast: Solemnity; Holy Day of
    Obligation
    Prayers: Litany of the Saints, Mass
    Other Names for the Feast: All Saints'
    Day, Feast of All Saints

History of All Saints Day:
By the late fourth century, this common feast was celebrated in Antioch, and Saint Ephrem the Syrian mentioned it in a sermon in 373. In the early centuries, this feast was celebrated in the Easter season, and the Eastern Churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, still celebrate it then.

The current date of November 1 was instituted by Pope Gregory III (731-741), when he consecrated a chapel to all the martyrs in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and ordered an annual celebration. This celebration was originally confined to the diocese of Rome, but Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the feast to the entire Church and ordered it to be celebrated on November 1.

The vigil or eve of the feast, October 31, is commonly known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. Despite concerns among some Christians (including some Catholics) in recent years about the "pagan origins" of Halloween, the vigil was celebrated from the beginning—long before Irish practices, stripped of their pagan origins (just as the Christmas tree was stripped of similar connotations), were incorporated into popular celebrations of the feast.

The above was taken from:
Scott P. Richert  on Catholic.about.com

Feast of All Souls

It is a day of prayer all those who have gone before us, celebrated on November 2nd. Over time the practices of the feast day have grown in popular tradition to include the whole month of November. There are various historical references that indicate Christians  in Europe prayed for the dead in the early centuries of the Church. These times were often connected with the Easter season around Pentecost. It was during the dark ages that the monasteries of the Cluniac order began to celebrate All Souls on November 2nd.  the date and the practice was finally accepted in Rome in the fourteenth century.

Quick Facts:
    Date: November 2
    Type of Feast: Feast
    Prayers: Eternal Rest, Eternal Memory,
    Weekly Prayers for the Faithful Departed
   Other Names: All Souls' Day,
   Other: US Catholic cultural tradition of the
   Book of the Dead begins on this day.

Biblical Basis:
The basis for this day is 2 Maccabees 12:42-46, where Judas Maccabaeus, after a battle, lead his men to pick up their dead and bury them. They found that their dead comrades bore the amulet of a false idol.  They then held each of them up in intercessory prayer, that God would fully blot out their sin.  Scholars have seen this as the basis of the Catholic understanding of purgatory where those who die are purified of the effects of their sin before they enter into full communion with God.

Current Practice:
Today the church gathers together in prayer at mass on the feast day and lifts all those in purgatory up in prayer that their sins would be cleansed and that they would join the saints in heaven with Christ.

One of the popular traditions associated with this day is to formally recognize specific individuals by creating a list of names of those who have passed away. Thus their names are remembered not just by family and friends but also by the whole Christian community.  Here at the Cathedral This is done in a book with blank pages where the faithful list their friends and relatives who have died but still live on. This book is often referred to as "The Book of the Dead."

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)

This video explains the symbols and practices of the Mexican celebration of Dia de los Muertos

Quick Facts:
  Date: November 1 and 2
  Type of Feast: Participation in the Church
                feasts of All Saints and All Souls.
  Other: This is a Mexican Cultural tradition.

History of Dia de Los Muertos
More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death.

It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing for at least 3,000 years. A ritual the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate. The ritual is known today as Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead.

Although the ritual has since been merged with Catholic theology, it still maintains the basic symbols of the Aztec ritual, such as the use of skulls. People would put on wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. Wooden or sugar skulls were placed on altars/displays that are dedicated to the dead. The native Aztecs viewed death 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.

However, the Spaniard missionaries considered the ritual to be sacrilegious. They perceived the indigenous people to be barbaric and pagan. In their attempts to convert them to Catholicism, the missionaries tried to kill the ritual. But, they were unable. When they realized this they molded it to reflect Christian traditions.

To make the ritual more Christian, the Spaniards moved the celebration from the beginning of August to All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Nov. 1 and 2), which is when it is celebrated today.  They used the Aztec sense of the living spirits and connected it to the Catholic teaching of the communion of Saints and the praying for those who have died are in purgatory. 

Day of the Dead Today:
Day of the Dead is celebrated today in Mexico and in certain parts of the United States and Central America. Each cultural region has its own particular celebration practices and symbols. In rural Mexico, people visit the cemetery where their loved ones are buried. They decorate gravesites with marigold flowers and candles. They bring toys for dead children and bottles of tequila to adults. They sit on picnic blankets next to gravesites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones. In Mesa Arizona, the ritual has evolved to include other cultures. There Native Americans and African-Americans participate with their own dances. Everyone wants the opportunity to honor their dead.

In the United States and in Mexico's larger cities, families build altars/displays in their homes, dedicating them to the dead. They surround these altars with flowers, food, painted skulls and pictures of the deceased. They light candles and place them next to the altar. They honor their dead loved ones by transforming the room into an altar.  The family offers incense and flowers. They play their favorite music, make their favorite food. For some the altar is not only dedicated to friends and family members who have died, but to others as well. Often remembered are those who have died in various and noted tragic events of the past year.

Information for this article comes from an article by Carlos Miller for the Arizona Republic and various other sources.