Author Archives: John Cutrone

Nov 02 2015
Day of the Dead

Calaveras Dance

It is the morning of All Souls Day as I write this, Dia de Muertos or Dia de los Muertos (take your pick): Day of the Dead. Seth and I have just had our coffee and pan de muertos (bread of the dead) for breakfast. We gathered yesterday with family to celebrate. Mom made the bread; it’s a simple yeast bread topped with cinnamon and sugar and anise seeds with dough shaped like bones on top; we had it last night with coffee and two games of loteria where we all laughed uproariously at our terrible Spanish pronunciations (our Spanish definitely sounding more Italian than Spanish).

Things here have been a bit hectic so I didn’t have time to write something for you about this special day… but here’s a reprint of last year’s chapter. The message is timeless and the wishes all the same. From us to you: ¡Feliz de los muertos! ~ John

Calaveras

Hallowe’en is but the beginning of festivities that are powerful, celebratory connections to those who have come and gone before us. That first special night is followed by All Saints Day on the First of November and then today, the Second, brings us the day we celebrate everyone else, saint or not: All Souls Day, or Day of the Dead, Dia de Muertos. It is the homier of the two sacred days, more familial: All Saints Day has always seemed to me more of a formal church holiday, but Dia de Muertos is more about home, with good food, as well as music and games. Naturally, this is the day we like best of the two.

The celebrations in Mexico, where Dia de Muertos is a very big deal, can be very grand indeed, but most are just like one we will have: a small gathering, just amongst family, with a celebratory meal. We will eat, we will laugh, we will play loteria and laugh some more and we will eat some more and we will remember all of the folks who are there in spirit if not in person. It is celebrations like these that help us keep those loved ones with us, even long after they are gone. This is powerful magic, and so easily conjured. And this is what lies at the heart of these days we love so much. Death is there for every one of us. And if there is a seat for death set at every festive gathering, this, certainly, is the gathering and the day when we can laugh most heartily at it. Look closely at any of the traditional Mexican handcrafts we sell for Dia de Muertos, or at the woodcuts of José Guadalupe Posada that inspire them, and this becomes clear. Death is but a part of life. If we embrace it, if we do not not talk about it, it becomes less frightening. We gain some control over its power. And we keep the channels open across the ages.

 

Image: Calaveras from our Convivio Book of Days Catalog for Dia de Muertos.

 

Nov 01 2015
Book of Days Calendar, Day of the Dead, Halloween

Your November Book of Days

Nov15 Pumpkin

Hallowe’en has past and now it is November. It is also All Hallows, the day that gives All Hallow’s Eve, or Hallowe’en, its name. All Hallows, better known these days as All Saints Day. Tomorrow, All Souls: Dia de Muertos in the Mexican tradition, I Morti in the Italian tradition, an idea spanning cultures and places: honoring the dead on these autumnal days that lead us toward winter and gathering in.

And here is your November Book of Days calendar. You’ll notice that these days where we particularly remember those who have come and gone before us carry on all the way through Martinmas, the 11th of November. When we speak of the sacredness of Hallowe’en, it is in this context. I can recall when I was in college being in a class on American Indian literature, and the professor, who was not Native American, went on and on about sacred traditions, sacred ways. But when I protested over his scheduling of an exam on Hallowe’en night, he scoffed at me. And I wondered how he could teach the sacredness of one culture’s traditions when he couldn’t even recognize the sacred roots of his own. I took his exam that Hallowe’en night as fast as I could, aced it even, and then got out of there and connected with the folks at home who were waiting for me to celebrate with them.

And so we gather in, we remember, we celebrate. November begins this way and as the month continues darkness grows, for we are fast approaching Midwinter and the darkest nights of the year. The month concludes with our day of thanks and with the start of advent, as we begin to call back the light. It’s a beautiful month to be on this earth, and a beautiful month to honor those who have moved on to other shores.

 

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Oct 31 2015
4 Comments
Halloween

Magic

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It is Halloween tonight, All Hallow’s Eve. For a guy who likes to write about seasonal traditions and the magic of ceremony and the willingness to suspend disbelief, well… I could write a book, as they say, about Halloween. And maybe someday I will. The traditions that make our Halloween what it is today––the centuries of beliefs and practices that inform our celebration––are truly fascinating and darkly mysterious, and they evoke such paradox of emotion. I’ve met people who refuse to celebrate Halloween, for they feel it is an unholy thing, and I know people who couldn’t care less about Halloween. But then again, there are many who love Halloween so much it is easily their favorite night of the year. And why wouldn’t it be? If we are open to Halloween and its mystery, we get to go back in time, back to our childhood, back to a land we’ve all been forced to leave behind.

The kid in the photograph above rang our doorbell and yelled “Trick or Treat!” in his spaceman costume years and years ago. He was a sweet guy and he let me take his picture, even though he was a man on a mission with a lot more doorbells to ring. Who knows what he’s like now; but I hope he is a person who still loves Halloween and who is not embarrassed to reconnect with the kid he used to be. I wish this for him and I wish this for all of us. There is real magic in that, and it is powerful stuff.

If you are a person who is willing to suspend disbelief for a spell, you’d probably enjoy a good ghostly story at this spirited time of the year. Convivio Bookworks happens to have one for you: It’s the annual Halloween Convivio Dispatch. It won’t be published here on the Convivio Book of Days blog, because the blog is the blog, and it is about seasonal traditions, mainly. The Convivio Dispatch is much older than the Book of Days blog. I began writing it in 1998 as a plain text email to the 30 or so people on my mailing list. Nowadays, there’s a lot more than 30 people on the list, but still the Dispatches are plain text emails, little story bombs that arrive in your inbox to make your day a bit more special. The Halloween Dispatch each year seems to be the most eagerly anticipated, and despite advances in technology, I like them as plain text emails. You know me: I like the simple things.

If you don’t already get the Convivio Dispatch in your inbox, I’d be delighted to add you to that list of people who get it. All you need to do is sign up by clicking here.

I’d suggest reading this year’s Halloween Dispatch with a cup of cider or a mug of coffee. It involves Minnie’s Diner and revenge between friends over an April Fools prank, and a ghost train, too. I’m working on the edits and polishes just about now and the finished story will be sent out to wend its way through the world like a nighttime fog most likely late on Halloween night, or maybe the night after. I rarely know until… I know. You’ve got to be open to the mystery.

May your Halloween be a spirited one.
John

 

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