by Sr. Rita Kelly, MMM                                     Ireland                                           01.11.2025

I read an article on the internet with the above heading “Making the dead welcome- All Soul’s Day in Ireland” (cf. IrishCentral). I immediately remembered my time in Mexico many years ago.

I was staying with a Mexican family studying Spanish. On 2nd November I was amazed at the Mexican tradition of commemorating their Dead. It was truly a day of celebration. They celebrate the day as EL Dia de Los Muertos (The Day of the Dead). The family set a special table for their deceased. It was a feast, food that the deceased would like, also drinks and cigars. Skeletons were dressed in the good clothes of the deceased relatives.

Looking back on my own memories, in Ireland, I had an image of myself as child with other children going in and out of the Church saying prayers for the dead. It was a day of memories, but I did not remember it as a day of celebration. Somehow there was a sense of sadness. I have a memory of an uncle telling us ghost stories around the fire. Of course, in Mexico, the sun is shining, but November, in Ireland, in the Northern Hemisphere, the days are getting shorter and darker. Some traditions here may have died down, but for three days there are practices and rituals for Halloween – “Samhain”, All Saints Day and Holy Souls’ Day (31st October, 1st November and 2nd November) remaining from our Celtic tradition.

In the Celtic tradition, very like the Mexican tradition, it was believed that the souls of the dead would return to their family home on Holy Souls’ Night. Great care was taken to make sure they were welcomed. To welcome the dead, floors were swept and a good fire lit. They would set a place at the dinner table for each deceased relative. Cemeteries were visited. Graves were cleaned and prayers were said. Candles were lit for those who had passed. On Holy Soul’s Night the door of the house was always left unlocked.

Today, Holy Souls’ Day remains a day of commemoration. In the parishes we will attend Mass, prayers will be said for our dearly beloved. Cemeteries will be visited. Here in Drogheda, people meet in the local cemetery to say the rosary daily,

Also, families have their own traditions for remembering their loved ones. In my own family, we will arrange a day to meet to attend Mass, to visit the graves and to share a meal. November is more poignant now, as my mother died on 20th November 2001. It was my mother who started the family tradition when my father died in 1979.

I am grateful for this time to remember our dead, the people who passed through our lives who were present and part of our history. But we also pray for those who have died who have no one to remember them.

We pray:
“Eternal Rest, grant unto them, O Lord,
And let perpetual light shine upon them
May they rest in peace” Amen.