A Season for Remembering

I’ve never been a big fan of Halloween. The monsters, skeletons, and witches scare me, and I dislike seeing our children bombarded with candy and sugar. But that’s the commercialism. I was missing the deeper point.

Lisa, who is guiding our upcoming Sacred Journey With Grief Retreat (February 8-15, 2026) with Jess and me, has helped me to see this season differently. Her words below have inspired a more meaningful perspective.

The change in seasons is palpable. The harvest is completing, the leaves are falling, the temperatures are dropping, the darkness comes earlier, and the sun rises later.  

Across cultures, this time between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice has long been a sacred season of remembrance. 

In ancient Celtic tradition, Samhain—meaning Summer’s End—honors death and the turning of the year. In Latin America, Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), with roots in both Indigenous and Catholic traditions, celebrates the ongoing relationship between the living and the dead.

Día de los Muertos is often described as a joyful, vibrant celebration to welcome spirits, whereas Samhain is a more somber pagan festival with a belief that the veil between the worlds is thinnest at the end of the harvest and the coming of winter, marking the great dying and rebirthing of the year. 

We can draw from these traditions to bring ritual and meaning to our lives in the darkest of days. 

In the spirit of Día de los Muertos, ofrendas are made, temporary shrines created to honor and welcome the spirits of our deceased loves ones. These altars are filled with symbolic offerings like photos, favorite foods, and candles, which are believed to help guide the souls of the departed on their annual journey back to the land of the living to celebrate with their families. The primary purpose is to welcome and honor the spirits of family and friends who have passed.

Symbolic elements include: 

·      Fire- Candles represent fire and are used to light the way for the spirits, often arranged in a cross to symbolize the four cardinal directions. 

·      Water- Water is placed on the altar to quench the spirits' thirst after their long journey. 

·      Air--Papel picado, or colorful cut paper banners, represents the wind and the fragility of life. 

·      Earth--Food and drinks symbolize earth. Pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and the favorite dishes of the deceased are common offerings. Cempasúchil flowers: Bright orange marigolds are often used to create a path from the door to the altar, guiding the spirits with their vibrant color and strong scent. 

·       Cempasúchil (marigolds): Their bright orange petals and scent guide spirits from the doorway to the altar.          

In the spirit of Samhain we can create a communal rite of remembrance, feasting, and ancestral reconnection. Here are some ideas: 

·      Cook for a Specific Ancestor(s) or your beloved who is asking to be fed, or who are you yearning to feed. 

·      As you shop, listen to your body. Your body is their body — made of their flesh and bones. Let instinct and synchronicity guide you.

·      Before cooking, cleanse your kitchen with mugwort, sage, cedar, or an ancestral herb.

·      Light a candle. Speak aloud: “I’m cooking for you ___.”

·      Llisten to their favorite music.

Then cook and when it is complete, share some of the offering by placing it on the altar. 

Lisa’s insights helped me to understand that the Skeletons (calaveras) remind us that death is a natural part of life. By dressing as skeletons, people express that death is not something to fear — it’s simply another stage in the spiritual journey. Painting one’s face as a skull or dressing as a skeleton symbolizes becoming one with the ancestors — a way of embodying the spirits and showing that they live on through us.

The Mexican culture expresses a playful relationship with death. People laugh with death rather than at it. The famous skeletal figure La Catrina, created by artist José Guadalupe Posada in the early 1900s, represents the idea that no matter who you are in life — rich or poor — we all share the same fate, so we may as well dance with it.

And in the 8th century, the church designated November 1 as All Saints’ Day to honor all saints and martyrs. November 2was designated soon after as All Souls’ Day, to pray for all the faithful departed.

However, you choose to embrace this season, remember there is no right or wrong way. The invitation is to honor your soul’s longing and to establish practice, intention, or ritual that is meaningful to you.