Celebrating Día de Muertos Lessened My Fear of Death

summer.koester

“El que niega la muerte, niega la vida.” (He who denies death, denies life.) —Octavio Paz

Today and tomorrow during Día de Muertos, Day of the Dead, people in Mexico, the U.S., & parts of Central America celebrate the lives of loved ones who passed on. Tradition holds that the dead would be offended with grieving and sadness, so festivities honor them with laughter and joy.

Growing up with aggravated asthma and three recent visits to the ER gasping for breath led to my developing a deep-seated fear of dying. Since I began celebrating Día de Muertos with my children and students (I teach Spanish), my fear of death has diminished.

By joking, discussing, and celebrating death, we can confront our fears of imminent demise. Psychologists agree that naming fears helps take away their power.

Octavio Paz, famous Mexican writer, once said: “the Mexican … frequents [death], jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it; it is one of his favorite toys and most steadfast love.”

Carlos Olmeda explains, “For Mexicans, death was part of life. For us, it was like going from day to night so we didn’t feel something we were losing; it was just a step more.”

Day of the Dead masks & sugar skulls created by my children honoring and remembering Grandpa Pocka and Great Grandmother Nani, sugar skulls, & skeleton puppets created by my students.

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Summer Koester is an award-winning writer and an educator, artivist, and culture disruptor in Lingít Aaní, "Land of Tides," a.k.a. Juneau, Alaska. Her words have appeared in New York Times, The Sun, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Huffington Post, Insider Magazine, The Independent, and various buses around Juneau.

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  • Summer, I’m glad you’ve found a deeper, more positive connection to death gifted to you by Dia de Muertos. Thank you for sharing this.

    • Thanks so much, Tre. It really has made such a huge difference. I think everyone should embrace this wonderful tradition. Although it does involve cleaning up a lot of glitter the day after, lol!

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