Community Altars

Community altar, Cumberland, B.C. 2008

detail from above altar

   This is the time of the year when the veil between the worlds is thin, a time to connect with the dearly departed and ancestors.  Many civilizations and cultures have created rituals at this time of year to honor and celebrate the dead.  Feast of All Souls, All Saints Day and Dia De Los Muertos all fall between the end of Oct 30 and beginning of Nov. Many of these rituals include; visiting, cleaning, and decorating the graves of loved ones, creating altars and, feasting. The above community altar was created for the 'Day of the Dead' art show at the Abbey in Cumberland B.C. in 2008. People were asked to bring offerings for the altar such as; food, flowers, meaningful objects and/or photographs of loved ones, ancestors, mentors... that have passed away. It is a powerful way to celebrate this magical time of the year with community.  
   In the Mexican tradition of the day of the Dead, this not about sadness and grief but a time to celebrate, remember and connect with the dead! I was first exposed to this tradition and, community altars back in the early 9o's when I was working at La Quena, a volunteer run, Latin American coffee house on Commercial Dr. in Vancouver B.C. It was also around the time when my father and grandmother passed away and I found these rituals really resonated with me. A few years later I was a witch in the first Public Dreams 'Parade of the Lost Souls' in Vancouver. Public Dreams Society was created by Paula Jardine, an inspiring Canadian artist that creates community art events, see the 'art in community' link on this blog FMI about Paula Jardine's work. The Parade of the Lost Souls is a collaborative community event that continues to be a Vancouver tradition and community altars and shrines play an important role in this event. Many communities hold similar events involving community altars and personal shrines, examples can be seen on the following links. 
http://www.reclaimingquarterly.org/web/dia/dia-1.html
http://www.allsoulsprocession.org/projects/personal-altars