Free Republic

Packed with exposed wooden pallets, art easels and Mexican skeleton dolls, Palo Alto resident and artist Virginia Gutiérrez Porter's garage art studio will soon be transformed into a complete, immersive altar for Día de Muertos, the Mexican holiday honoring lost loved ones. Palo Alto resident Virginia Gutiérrez Porter created a detailed portrait of a calaca, a traditional depiction of a skeleton, for her Day of the Dead altar at her home. Courtesy Virginia Gutiérrez Porter. Palo Alto resident Virginia Gutiérrez Porter created a detailed portrait of a calaca, a traditional depiction of a skeleton, for her Day of the Dead...

For Christians, November 1st is All Saint’s Day, followed by tomorrow’s observance of All Souls’ Day. Mexicans go one better and use both November 1st and 2nd to celebrate Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, a very creepy way to honor those who’ve passed over if you ask me.If you wish to do a full cultural immersion approach to remembering dead ancestors I vastly prefer the Native American tradition of “Ghost Suppers” held by the Anishinaabe peoples of Michigan, the Odawa, Ojibwa and Potawatomi tribes. It seems to be a bit of a moveable feast, although always...

El Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is an ancient holiday that celebrates death and loved ones who've passed on. Google on Thursday is joining the holiday, observed each year on Nov. 2, with its own Doodle altar to the dead. The celebration traditionally features gatherings in which families pray and remember relatives and friends who have died and help them with their spiritual journey. Rather than mournful events, the holiday celebrates death as a part of the cycle of life, thereby dispelling fear of dying. The holiday also often serves as a source of...

A dance party scheduled for November 3 in San Francisco has spurred outrage among Bay Area residents due to its "Day of the Dead" theme and what some perceive as a perversion of Mexican traditions.

The latest absentee ballot statistics released this afternoon by the state of Pennsylvania show a strong Republican tilt in the Keystone State, a bad sign for Democratic candidates up and down the ticket. According to the secretary of state’s office, 53,226 absentee ballots have been returned by registered Republicans in Pennsylvania compared with 37,631 by registered Democrats.

A Trunk or Treat is a Halloween event that is often church or community-sponsored. People gather and park their cars in a large parking lot. They open their trunks or the backs of their vehicles and decorate them. Then they pass out candy from their trunks. The event provides a safe family environment for trick or treaters.... (see pictures!)

I looked over the Halloween article but I was wondering how to explain that to my eleven year old. Do you have any articles written to children on this?—T.H., U.S. Many people celebrate Halloween without considering the history of the holiday. They put on costumes, attend parties, eat candy, and even pull pranks on neighbors. In fact, Americans spend billions of dollars each year decorating and preparing. But there’s more to Halloween than jack-o-lanterns and scary stories. Let’s take a quick trip back in time to see where some of these customs came from—and if Christians should take part. To...

Tamara Morales paid homage to her grandfather on her lunch hour at the fast-food chain Chipotle on Thursday. "I told the guy behind the counter, 'Give me the most 'picante' salsa,'" said Morales, in Spanish. Morales was preparing for "El Dia de los Muertos," or "the Day of the Dead," a holiday when the spirits of the deceased are said to return and reunite with loved ones. Her grandfather, Manual, died six years ago at the ripe age of 87, she said. He had a loud voice and a penchant for spicy food, so Morales was going to savor the...

Just announced on the FNC.

Oh My! What choreography! Pee-ew. Anti-war Protesters flash peace signs as they peform yoga in downtown San Francisco on Friday, March 19, 2004. Demonstrations in several U.S. cities are taking place Friday on the anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez) This one is just plain scary!

HALLOWEEN: ITS ORIGINS AND CELEBRATION The celebration of Halloween has dual origins. The first is in a pre-Christian Celtic feast associated with the Celtic New Year. The second is in the Christian celebration of All Saints Day (Nov. 1st) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2). In the British Isles November 1st is called All Hallows, thus the evening before is All Hallows Eve. The Celtic FeastThe ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany (NW France) celebrated their New Year's Day on what would be November 1st on our calendar. Prior to their conversion to Catholicism these...

When I was growing-up Halloween was a fun time to dress in costumes, go to the neighbors for "trick or treat," soap windows, bob for apples, and tell ghost stories. At the time, it all seemed so harmless; little did we know that we were actually celebrating Satan's holiday. Halloween was, and is, subtle exposure to the occult. Regardless of All Hallows Eve, today our schools are blatantly introducing cultic activities to our young people, such as séances, New Age meditation, and witchcraft. Most recently, McNear Elementary School in Petaluma City, California decided that their fourth-graders were going to celebrate...