We're more related than we think

I enjoyed my experience attending the virtual “Ofrendas for the Future” event. During these uncertain times I feel it is important to continue with certain traditions and to remain connected with our communities. And when I say communities I mean it in a very broad sense, because as individuals living together we create the communities we inhabit. That is one of the points I picked up on while listening to the discussion panel. The (un)conference, to me, was a place where women from different cultures can come together and share stories and traditions that honor the dead. In some traditions, altars are built to memorialize the departed. In others, a time of mourning to allow the dead to travel to the next world is appropriate. So in some way, shape or form, the spirit of someone’s life is celebrated through ritual and custom.

Sharing our stories is also important for the sake of our collective history as ethnic groups living in America, which is the larger theme of this event. In some Chinese cultures I've heard there is also a time of mourning to allow the dead to travel to the next world. In Filipino culture, we also practice Dios De Los Muertos but call it All Saints Day. The holiday is meant to celebrate all the Christian saints, known or unknown, but also to celebrate our loved ones who have passed. Family gatherings are held at the tombs of the departed. Food and floral offerings are provided, small altars are set, and gravestones and plots are cleaned. This practice is attributed to our largely Catholic population, which stems from the four centuries of Spanish colonization in the Philippines.