The Day of the Dead

The commercial development of Halloween has caused it to dominate the Christian holidays. The three days - October 31 (All Hallows’ Eve, Halloween), November 1 (All Saints’ Day), and November 2 (All Souls’ Day) were special Holy Days in the Roman Catholic Church.

The Day of the Dead is a further complication of these holidays. It traces its origins back to Pre-Columbian Times, and it has been adopted in Latin American Countries as a blended holiday. In these countries, the emphasis is on symbols of death, such as skulls, skeletons, etc.

The Catholic Church may take a very long time to designate a person as a saint. I say that Helen Ryde already has achieved that. As a circuit rider / regional organizer for the Reconciling Methodist Network for 13 years, they traveled many miles across the southeastern states and more. They carried a plastic toy of John Wesley to accompany them on their travels. They attended conferences, churches, and RMN groups with ever-lasting endurance. What I remember most, is their joy in living. They were a lot of fun in a serious business.

After 21 months of devastating conflict with Israel, Gaza’s most vulnerable civilians — the young, the old and the sick — are facing what aid groups say is impending famine. Throughout the war, U.N. agencies and independent aid groups have accused Israel of allowing far too little food into Gaza, warning of impending famine for its more than two million people. For much of that time, Israel has said that enough food was reaching Gaza, blaming diversions by Hamas and mismanagement by aid groups for problems. The debate over whether the war in Gaza constitutes genocide has also played out at the International Court of Justice, where South Africa has brought a genocide case against Israel. The court has yet to rule on the matter. +

Here are the numbers: