With the proximity of Day of the Dead Thousands of Mexican families get ready to prepare their altars, which honor the memory of the deceased through everything they used to in life: toys, food, alcohol, water and sweets, among many others. However, is there a correct way to set up altars? According to the Catholic Church—the religious body with the largest number of believers in the country—: yes, Here we tell you the details.
Let us remember that by tradition, on an altar, candles are placed so that the fire guides its path, a cross of salt to purify the soul and a cross of ash, typical dishes of gastronomy, tequila, mezcal or the alcoholic drink that the person liked the most and marigold petals.
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What should not be on an altar, according to the Catholic Church
For the Catholic Church, there should be no food on an altar for the dead to offer to the deceased, Since the dead do not even set foot on the earthly plane, it is, more than anything, an idiosyncrasy of living people. On a Catholic altar there should be no sugar skulls, no bread of the dead, not even water or tequila.
According to the Church, on an altar for the dead there should only be: images of a saint, crucifixes, flowers, candles, and a memory that our deceased liked in life.
Because? It turns out that the Church considers that it is the dead who should be remembered and their memory respected, not death itself. Now, nothing is set in stone; The Church still defends that the composition of altars be carried out freely in a country like Mexico, where death is coexisted daily.
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