My wife is friends with someone at church who is involved with the annual Halloween party. She recounted to my wife the information about an idea someone else involved had for it.


I think it is half crazy but then I think again, well doy, it is "Mormon logic."


What do you think?


The idea is to make the party like the Disney movie "Coco" and have all the decorations be ala "Dia de los Muertos" and ask families to bring photos of their dead loved ones.


My wife's friend nixed this idea because she thought it was stupid. I had to agree at first shaking my head and thinking ridiculous Mormons and then I took stock and paused for a moment considering it. It. does. make. sense...for Mormons...

It sounds like the beginning of a Wiccan Samhain (Halloween) ritual. Hmmmm.... is there a Pagan in the woodpile?

I think they should walk around in white sheets practicing their handshakes, but what do I know.

I thought Halloween for mormons was all about car trunks? And never trick-or-treating on Sundays...

Will somebody be going around checking the backs of dead-loved-ones photos for names and dates, so they can put them into the temple dead-dunk queue?

If so, sounds like somebody wants to kill 2 birds with 1 stone!

It's very mormon. mormons have set themselves apart as Jews, they have assaulted Native American heritage and culture, so next on the list is Mexico.

It's all one big cultural appropriation party for the mormons because they are oh so very special and are the only ones that know the real history and future of the world.....which is all central to them.

And the only ones who think working for the dead is a good idea.

Disney and a day for the dead. Couldn't more Mormon than that.

Now that's a mormon Halloween party! Decorate like Disney Day of the Dead and bring pictures of your dead relatives. Dunk the picture in a punch bowl that sits on 8 oxen skeletons, filled with 7-Up, pineapple juice and lime sherbet.

That cover's all the mormon party bases.....cultural appropriation, Disney, baptism for the dead, and a party with mormon punch!

Why not appropriate African culture? It would really liven up the ward dances.

Great idea. How about appropriating any culture with dead ancestors and spirits prominent in it?

They could do a Lion King themed event, that way they get their Disney fix at the same time.

Bring your kitties!

I actually think it is a cool idea. It mixes up those stale typical ward halloween bashes a bit. Personally, the tropes of halloween in a merica are pretty bland compared to the colors and traditions of dia de los muertos. I dont think the idea would go over well in a typical mormon ward though. It would get shot down because it doesnt follow the status quo everyone expects.

It is kinda cool how Mormons evolved something in their cult to celebrate.


I can't think of single instance of celebrating the dead socially in my former Mormonism other than "saving" them.

were great. We had great spook alleys. Now they do have the trunk or treats. My TBM daughter, who loves Halloween, thinks that trunk or treats have ruined trick or treating for kids in Utah.

And I think the idea that this person suggested is hilarious. They really don't get how they look, do they?

Disney did it to make money, the same reason the LDSC does things.

It sounds macabre. Disturbing.

19th-century post-mortem photography

The word "Halloween" is an conjunction for "All Hallow's Eve". November first is "All Hallow's day" or "All Saint's day" - in Mexican culture, the Day of the Dead. November 2nd is "All Souls day".

In the Catholic church, November first is a Holy Day of obligation. (You are supposed to go to Mass on that day). It is not uncommon in many parishes for a table to be set up in the outer foyer of the church (The Narthex) where families can bring photos of family members that have passed in the last year. There are extra prayers that can be said for both those that have passed and for comfort for the family. The photos often are of parishoners that most people know - it provides a time of reflection and happy memories of those that have been lost in the last year.

Celebrating "Dia de los Muertos", or "All Saints Day" is actually the most Christian thing I have ever heard of the Mormons. Remembering the dead once a year is a Christian tradition that actually dates almost as far back as Christianity itself.

That said, I doubt they have any idea.

Yes, it actually dates back to pagan times when the Celts celebrated Samhaim on Oct 31/Nov 1. The Christian church took this holiday directly from them.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/21/2018 10:24AM by Heidi GWOTR.

I don't think this would be a good idea. It stinks of exploitation.

Dios de los Muertos, from what I can tell, is a holiday about respecting the dead, visiting the graves of loved ones, and celebrating death as a part of life. Basically, Dios de los Muertos is about deceased loved ones and acknowledging that everyone will die someday. Knowing Mormons, they will go by what they saw in the movie instead of studying the traditions and why Dios de los Muertos is celebrated.

And we all know instead of celebrating the deceased's lives, Mormons will exploit the dead for baptisms. No offerings to the dead, no stories of the deceased in life, just seeking names to baptize. They're worse than vultures- vultures just eat the dead, Mormons just make the dead another name in the records.

Anything would be better than trunk-or-treat, IMO. Too much candy! My grandchildren are sick of candy, by the time real trick-or-treat comes around. It does spoil the anticipation, and the special-ness of the American traditional Halloween. Last year, I talked the kids into giving me most of their candy to give out at the door, for regular trick-or-treat.

However, teaching little kids to approach cars in a public parking lot at night, and take candy from strangers out of their trunk--that's something JS would have liked to teach kids.

Groom the little Mormons early, to trust the wrong people.

Macabre

I know it is popular to decry the mormons around every turn BUT...I have celebrated the Day of the Dead holiday with my family for years and we love it. We also celebrate halloween and we call those two days together as the high holy days.

We have talked to numerous Hispanic friends and acquaintances about the cultural appropriation issue and ALL of them has said that if you are appreciative of the culture and respect the intention of the holiday then it is a wonderful thing to do.

All of that said, the Day of the Dead does have a different vibe than Halloween. We just love it. It is something you should all experience. Seriously. Would you be upset if everyone outside of mormonism started celebrating pioneer day? Would Jews be upset if we all started celebrating Purim? Not in the least. I'll bet they would be excited to share a fun part of their culture with us.

I happen to know Lee Unkrich, the director of Coco and he is Jewish. When he first got the green light from Disney (right on the heels of his Toy Story 3 success) he was so excited to dive into that film project. When Disney tried to copyright the name "Day of the Dead" he was horrified. He went to great lengths to incorporate all of the naysayers in the Hispanic community and took many trips through dangerous parts of Mexico to make sure he got the movie right. He realized the gravity of trying to make a piece of art based off of someone else's culture and he treated that with a lot of respect. I know he personally agonized over this part of the film. He wanted to champion this wonderful holiday and he did a fantastic job. The fact that Coco is now the highest-grossing film in Mexican history supports that it was not cultural appropriation but a love letter to all of Mexico.

So yes, please celebrate this holiday and invite your friends of Hispanic heritage...if you don't have any then there's the problem.

praydude Wrote:
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> So yes, please celebrate this holiday and invite
> your friends of Hispanic heritage...if you don't
> have any then there's the problem.

Don't be surprised if some Mormon dead appear at their celebrations! They wouldn't recognize their church.

> So yes, please celebrate this holiday and
> invite your friends of Hispanic heritage...
>
> if you don't have any, then email Elderolddog
> an invitation, with the appropriate links to
> downloading the first class travel arrangements
> and the spending money for excessive tipping, so
> that people will pretend to like him!



...or something like that, right? Why print the actual words when printing the intent makes more sense?

Definately LAUGHABLE

Hmmmm.

Genealogy + Halloween Party + Disney mentality = Mormon bastardizing of all three. Makes sense!


I hope the dead don't show up in temple clothes. That would be reeeaaallly scary.

Are they going to leave tequila and cigarettes on their ancestors' graves?

Mormonism is a dead "religion".
It's the one day members can be themselves. The little devil's!

It'll hijack anything!
Anything new or old.

readwrite-NLI Wrote:
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> It'll hijack anything!
> Anything new or old.

Borrowed or of good report (blue laws.)

Dia De Los Muertos is often misunderstood as a macabre celebration of death. Actually its a beautiful celebration and healthy acceptance of death, but cherishing the relationships you had with the living individual.

The movie Coco emphasized the beauty of remembering your ancestors who have moved on to the afterlife....which Im sure is very appealing to Mormons.


At least its not a Trunk or Treat...

RMM

Recovered Molly Mo Wrote:
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> The movie Coco emphasized the beauty of
> remembering your ancestors who have moved on to
> the afterlife....which Im sure is very appealing
> to Mormons.

I don't know. It creeped me out and triggered me a ton.

I have a matriarchically mad mother. The grandmother reminded me of her. Just replace "no musician" with "stay Mormon" and they are identical. I hated her bullying.

Then there was the whole "second death" in the afterlife. It felt too Mormon for me so when I heard about this Halloween idea I was like duh! So Mormon.