Day of the Dead – Cheshire Soul Cakes and more

Date – October 30, 2020

Start Time – 10:00 am

End Time – 05:00 pm

Celebrate your ancestors and loved ones at this vibrant and colourful Memorial event.

Passionate about breaking taboos and the culture change of not seeing death as ‘evil’ or Hallows Eve as a time to be sacred but a time of love and remembrance we welcome you to join us online as we celebrate our loved ones and honour end-of-life with this FREE virtual event.

We will look at funeral customs and traditions from around the globe, storytelling, discussions, cooking demos and lots more. We will send out new content nearly every hour throughout the day and you are invited to send us any blessings for loved ones and we will add them to Tuesday’s ceremony.

From traditions across many parts of the world, most notably the Mexican ‘Day of the Dead’, that actually runs for three days, in Britain it was called Hallows Eve, All Saints Day and All Souls Day. This was the Christian renaming of the previously pagan celebration. But our ‘Day of the Dead’ celebration is not for people of any one faith path, it is for anyone, of any denomination or none. Anyone who has lost a loved one or who wishes to honour their ancestors is welcome to celebrate and commemorate at this time.

Join us on this inaugural Last Wishes Celebration where we will look at some traditional ancient customs that have a surprising commonality across the world. Such as Cheshire soul cakes with their local Cheshire history.

 

Purpose

To honour our faithfully departed loved ones and ancestors while the ‘veil is thin’, this tradition is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain.

It is a time dedicated to remembering the dead, including martyrs and saints (hallows). But far from the ‘evil’ depictions it is given nowadays, as well as the commercialised ways that Halloween is often know for, our event is about a celebration and honouring. We will invite you to create alters meaningful to you and your memories of loved ones departed.

How to Register

Due to restrictions and inclusivity, we have decided to keep this event entirely online, so no registration is required. Join our celebrations and the many virtual offerings we have from Friday 30th October to Tuesday November 3rd 2020 on our FaceBook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/lastwishes/ or YouTube https://youtu.be/RBF9LCFFR8M

How to Prepare

We encourage you to create a space in your home or your garden to honour any departed loved ones you wish to remember. Maybe even place some photos, mementos or tokens on the altar in their honour. It could be something simple yet sentimental like a certain flower or food they liked.

Flowers

Flowers represent the beauty yet fragility of life. Marigolds, sometimes referred to as the ‘flower of the dead’ are the most commonly used flowers used in Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations.

Food

Fresh foods and sweet snacks are traditionally put on altars as offerings, to entice deceased loved ones to come back for a visit.