Veneration of the Dead Festivals
Festivals of the Dead
Welcome to my virtual birthday party! This month, I’m celebrating three important dates: my birthday, the six-month anniversary of my “book baby,” Hereafter, and the feast of Parentalia (February 13th-21st), an ancient Roman celebration to commemorate one’s ancestors and placate the spirits of the dead.
Parentalia is one of many “veneration of the dead” celebrations practiced around the world and at different times in history. Today, I wanted to tell you about some of my favorite “veneration of the dead” celebrations. Many of them are very similar, but each is also unique in some way, incorporating rituals or beliefs not found anywhere else.
Parentalia (February 13-21)
Of course, we’ll start with Parentalia, which I describe in detail in a guest post at the Caffeinated Diva. The short version is that Parentalia was held from February 13th until midnight on February 21st. It was celebrated by decorating family members' graves with garlands of flower and leaving specific offerings (such as bread and wine) for the dead (much like American Memorial Day). Like most veneration of the dead festivals, it concluded with a feast in which a place was set for the dead or a seperate altar was created for the food offerings. The need to feed the dead, send them gifts of items they might need in the afterlife, and to assure them they are not forgotten is a common theme in these festivals. In addition, businesses closed down and priests did not do any work. Over time, this expanded into a prohibition on travel or marriage during the month of May (Chinese Ghost Month shares similar prohibitions). What was unique about Parentalia was that it was a state-mandated responsibility for the head of the family to perform the rites of the celebration. That’s right—it was the law that you had to visit the graves of your ancestors and leave offerings, as well as perform the closing ritual of Feralia at midnight on the 21st! As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I loved the idea of Parentalia so much that I included a specific mention of it in the second book of the Hereafter series (Thereafter, due out June 1st).
Lemuralia (May 9th, 11th, 13th)
For three days in May, the ancient Romans celebrated Lemuralia (or Lemuria). Lemuralia was similar to Parentalia except that instead of a commemoration of one’s dead ancestors, Lemuralia was about exorcising the angry or vengeful, “kinless” dead who were thought to cause trouble for the living. Similar to the “Hungry Ghosts” of Chinese mythology, Lemures were thought to be the ghosts of those not afforded a proper burial. They were thought to take up residence in homes, where they tortured and terrified the living. During the three days of Lemuralia, the head of the family would walk around the home at midnight, casting dried beans around the house and chanting an incantation to drive the evil spirits out.
American Memorial Day (last Monday in May)
The last Monday in May is the modern American holiday of Memorial Day (celebrated since 1868, though with a few name and date changes over time), which was originally created to remember those who died while serving in the armed services. However, over time it has expanded to become a day in which all of the dead are remembered, with families visiting the graves of loved ones and leaving flowers or other tokens of remembrance.
Chinese Ghost Month (late summer/early fall)
In summer, there is Chinese Ghost Month and Chinese Ghost Festival (also known as Ghost Day). Because the Chinese calendar is based on the moon (a lunar calendar) the dates fluctuate from year to year, but generally Ghost Month occurs somewhere between mid-July and mid-September (the 7th Lunar month), with Ghost Festival occurring squarely in the middle of Ghost Month (on the 15th day of the 7th Lunar month). During Ghost Month, it is believed the dead are allowed out of the underworld, to roam free among the living. Like the ancient Romans, the Chinese believe that conducting business, traveling, or getting married during Ghost Month is unlucky, as the spirits of the dead may choose to interfere. During Ghost Festival, people leave offerings of food and items they think the dead will need. Unique to Ghost Festival is the use of special paper effigies of money and items for the dead, which are burned, as it is believed the spirit or essence of the item is carried to the spirit realm in the smoke (look for this custom to play an important role in Thereafter!). Ghost Month and Ghost Festival are also observed is most Asian countries, including Vietnam, Taiwan, and Japan. In some places, Ghost Month ends with the lighting of lanterns or paper boats that are then placed on a river to guide the dead back to the underworld (whenever I see the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End with all the row boats with lanterns going past the Black Pearl, I think of this custom). In Japan, Ghost Month is called Bon (or O-Bon) and is, in some ways, closer to the ancient Roman festival of Parentalia, in that it is a time for family reunions and visiting cemeteries and temples to clean ancestors’ graves. I think Ghost Festival is my favorite “veneration of the dead” festival, and I built a lot of the ghost world in Hereafter (and Thereafter) around beliefs associated with this particular festival (see if you can find all of the things in both books that stem directly from Ghost Festival!).
Halloween (October 31st)
And, of course, October 31st is the American holiday of Halloween, which dates from the much older Celtic holiday of Samhain. It was believed that, similar to Chinese Ghost Month, the doors to the afterlife (Otherworld) opened, allowing the spirits of the dead to roam free. As with Parentalia and Ghost Festival, the Celts held a feast in which a seat was reserved for dead family members and offerings of food made to the spirits of the dead. Unique to Samhain, however, was the custom of carving pumpkins with scary faces and wearing masks to confuse or frighten the spirits of the vengeful dead (and fairies, who were also thought to walk about on this night), who might return to cause mischief. The scary pumpkin faces were to frighten the spirits and the mask was so they couldn’t find you.
Day of the Innocents/Day of the Dead/All Saint’s Day/All Soul’s Day (November 1st and 2nd)
And finally, we have All Saint’s Day (November 1st) and All Souls Day (November 2nd), which are celebrated by Catholics across the world. All Saint’s Day is for commemorating saints, and all soul’s day, similar to American Memorial Day, is for commemorating all of the dead. Together, Halloween, All Saint’s Day, and All Soul’s Day are known as Hallowmas or the Tridum of All Hallows.
In Mexico and many other Hispanic countries, including Brazil and Spain, November 1st is called Day of the Innocents (for honoring dead child and infants) and November 2nd is known as the Day of the Dead (for all of the dead).
Okay, I admit it – they’re supposed to be friendly, but they do kind of creep me out
Similar to Parentalia and Chinese Ghost Festival, November 2nd is a day for honoring one’s dead relatives, leaving offerings at altars and holding a feast with a place set for the deceased. Unique to Day of the Dead is the iconic skull or skeleton figure that is depicted on candy items (including sugar skulls), cookies, and figurines. Unlike Halloween, the skull or skeleton of Day of the Dead is not meant to be scary but, instead, welcoming—it is a celebration and recognition that death is a part of life (a concept you'll also playing a prominent role in Thereafter!).
And there you have it—just a few of the many festivals related to honoring the dead, most of which are still practiced today. I know, for myself, I do observe the traditional meaning of Memorial Day and try to make time to take flowers to the cemeteries where my relatives are buried. I hope to someday attend a Ghost Festival celebration—because the date moves I always manage to miss it each year. Day of the Dead was relatively unknown in the Northeast part of the United States until a few years ago, but now it is becoming more common, and I look forward to skull cookies every year now. What about you? Do you observe any of these holidays, and if so, what is your favorite part?