Celebrate Your Family at the 46th Annual Fèt Gede & Day of the Dead Celebration

For 46 years, La Source Ancienne Ounfo, a New Orleans-based Haitian Voodoo society and religious organization, has gathered many families as the host of Fèt Gede & Day of the Dead, known as Dia de los Muertos, to join the two worlds of the living and the dead for one night. Each November 1, the veil between the two realms thins, allowing the dearly departed to temporarily spend time with their descendants and vice versa. Traditions vary by culture, but the message and intention remains the same: to converge in sacredness, memory, community, and ritual.

Remembering where we come from is to honor our loved ones and to recognize the steps they took for us to be where we are today. While Mexican Day of the Dead traditions illuminate headstones and home alters, called ofrendas, Haitian Fèt Gede summons tricksters, guardians, and healers of Vodou. To them, death is not finality, but a transformative and powerful equivalent ruled by Gede, the master of rebirth, healing, and divine mystery.

The New Orleans Healing Center assists with these traditions as a statute that helps, heals, and empowers individuals and the community at economic, social, physical, mental, and spiritual levels. Providing a base for small businesses and organizations to cater to the community is at the forefront of the center's mission. Businesses can use the Healing Center to conduct every day needs from buying groceries to having a hearty meal. To unwind, massages, yoga classes, and homewares shopping can be done there, as well.

Hosted by La Source Ancienne Ounfo at 2372 St. Claude Ave., the Fèt Gede & Day of the Dead Celebration will take place from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. This event is free and will include four segments, beginning with shots of Barbancourt Haitian rum from the by-donation cocktail bar. Happening at the same time is the ancestral altars and gathering.

Attendees are encouraged to bring photos and mementos of loved ones on the main altar stage view Édouard Duval-Carrié's Flying Spirits installation. Rum, cigars, top hats, flatbreads, and flowers are welcomed as offerings. Throughout the night, indulge in the mystical marketplace to browse or purchase esoteric crafts, offerings, and sacred items from local artisans.

At 7 p.m., the Gede Ceremony led by La Source Ancienne Ounfo will take center stage as the main event of the night. Guests should wear white with purple or black with purple, if participating. To close the celebration out is the Procession to Feed the Dead, a sacred gathering to speak praise names, pass sacred flame, and share prayers across traditions.

For more information visit fetgede.org.