Young Reporter: Redbridge Celebrates the Day of the Dead -Simrit Tagar

‘We’re all going to die one day. The problem is, we don’t like talking about it!'

On the 4th November, Redbridge celebrated the Day of the Dead with a day of festivities including arts and crafts, storytelling, theatre performances and dancing which ended in an intricate procession through the streets with a live band and giant puppets.

The day was organised by Redbridge Library Service and inspired by the Mexican tradition of Dia de Muertos which serves as a day to remember deceased family members and friends. It is a centuries old festival which combines the Aztec custom of celebrating ones ancestors with All Souls' Day - a holiday brought to Mexico by Spanish invaders in the 1500s.

I spoke to 9 year old Aisha Yousaf about her experience attending the event. ‘Everyone had lots of fun’, she says, ‘there was a music band and it was one big party!’. ‘It’s nice to understand each other’s festivals. I learnt that it doesn’t matter what we believe, we are all friends and must enjoy each other’s cultures.’

This was a key message shared too by Anita Luby - head of culture and libraries at Vision RCL – who said the event helped raise awareness about the Hispanic/Latina culture. ‘Redbridge has a multi-cultural population,’ she claims, ‘it is the 4th most diverse borough in the UK’.  

The event itself is part of a wider scheme of ‘Death Positivity.’ ‘Redbridge Library Service … is the UK’s first Death Positive Library Service,’ say Anita, ‘Since 2017, Redbridge Library Service has been exploring creative ways to help people talk about death. Our service has won a number of national awards for its work and has led the way in creating a national framework inspiring other libraries across the UK and Northern Ireland to become death positive.’

The Death Positivity is a recent philosophical phenomenon which encourages people to speak more openly about death and bereavement and to reduce the stigma surrounding it. The movement advocates for better end of life care to improve dignity and comfort, more open discussions about end of life wishes and for making the most of life whilst we still have it. ‘We’re all going to die one day. The problem is, we don’t like talking about it! …In Western Society, talking about death is a massive taboo!’ says Anita. This rings true with a third of Britons thinking about death or dying at least once a week, and 80% of British adults reporting anxiety about the subject according to Dying Matters – a campaign by Hospice UK.

This festival was a fun yet death related event - a bringing together of two ideas entirely polar for most people and cultures. The Death Positive Libraries initiative believes that by presenting the topic of death in a more upbeat way, they can remove some of the fear and awkwardness surrounding it and that involving children in the celebration can enable age appropriate and introductory discussions to take place to introduce the concept of death in a positive and safe way.

Vision is organising a range of other cultural events in the coming weeks including Christmas Lights switch on, Hanukkah Crafts, Islamic Arts & Heritage Festival and Pantomimes - www.visionrcl.org.uk/events.