Ritual and the Secular Day of the Dead
BY PHILLIPS STEVENS JR. •
As more and more people are abandoning their religious upbringing, many still want to celebrate certain cherished cultural traditions. This is why the upcoming Secular Day of the Dead was created as a redesign of Hispanic traditions and rituals that celebrate our one and only life, legacies, and cultural heritage. To nontheists, our legacies are our afterlife.
“Ritual” indicates a formal repetitive behavior before or during some task considered important by the actor, and it usually includes actions not directly relevant to nor causal of the intended outcome. Its best-known manifestations are in religious contexts when the extraneous actions have symbolic meaning, and by far the greatest number of studies of ritual are analyses of the practice of religion. However, ritualistic behavior is evident in our daily lives.
Most people have morning routines. Following them precisely is important and helps one to feel complete and confident; omitting some part of the routine can lessen those feelings. Such routines are especially important for people embarking on busy work schedules with critical outcomes. The query, “Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?” is a reaction to a friend’s unusually disorganized or grumpy behavior, suggesting that some violation of one’s morning ritual is to blame.
Celebrations of Life
“What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other.” —George Eliot
In every life, there are certain occasions that call for ceremonies -- weddings, the arrival of a child, the onset of adulthood, marriage, separation and finally, death. Recognition of these milestones mark one's passage through life and gives community and family the opportunity to come together.
As our society grows increasingly secular, so grows the need for personal celebrations that accurately reflect the beliefs of the individual.