Since when did death become cute?

As Halloween approaches I am starting to feel a tightness in my chest. Its a hard holiday mostly because I never got to dress Caleb up and do all the "fall things" that come along with the season. It is also a hard time because it seems like now it is trendy to make death cute. I got an email today in my inbox with a whole page dedicated to "cute" paper items for "the day of the dead." There were about a dozen items to choose from all resembling some sort of skull (with flowers too, of course).  Does anyone think anymore? Also, it seems that more and more I am seeing kids costumes overflowing with skeleton items. A skeleton is a dead person whose flesh has rotten away. And that is what you want to dress your toddler up as ? Ugh! I know I am more sensitive because I have a son who is in the ground and decaying as we speak. Maybe that is blunt, but its the truth. So all these skeletons and RIP decorations just make me crazy. They just feel so disrespectful to the dead. Like its all one big joke, well its not.

As a Catholic I feel like we, as in the Roman Catholic Church, do a great job of respecting the dead. After all, Halloween is originally supposed to be "all hollows eve," the night before All Saints Day.  And then on Nov. 2nd the Church celebrates All Souls Day. Masses are said all over the world for the souls of those who have died. The mass liturgy is beautiful and as a mother with a dead son I can say that the words of the mass bring me such comfort. Caleb's funeral was beautiful. I loved it (not the fact that we were at his funeral, but the liturgy itself). It was very royal and respectful and dignified-everything you would hope death would be. It was peaceful. And that is why I struggle with everything Halloween is now. Its anything but peaceful. It makes death out to be some sort of fun thing to dress up as or decorate with. It tries to make death cute. And its not. So in my book 1 for the Catholic Church 0 for the culture and their view on death, especially at Halloween.

skull masks that showed up in my email for me to buy(and these showed up on the cover of the magazine in my snail mail the next day)...

This is the candle you can buy to  go along with the skull masks...