It is an opportunity for followers to remember all saints and martyrs, known and unknown, throughout Christian history. Remembering saints and martyrs and dedicating a specific day to them each year has been a Christian tradition since the 4th century AD, but it wasn't until 609AD that Pope Boniface IV decided to remember all martyrs. Originally May 13th was designated as the Feast of All Holy Martyrs. Later, in 837AD, Pope Gregory IV extended the festival to remember all the saints, changed its name to Feast of All Saints and changed the date to November 1st.
Tomorrow is All Souls Day. All Souls' Day is marked on 2nd November (or the 3rd if the 2nd is a Sunday), directly following All Saints' Day, and is an opportunity for many Christian denominations to commemorate the faithful departed. Some rituals include the offering of Requiem Mass for the dead, lighting of candles, visiting family graves and reflecting on lost loved ones. In Mexico, on el dia de los muertos (Day of the Dead), people take picnics to their family graves and leave food out for their dead relatives.
In the midst of these two days and in preparation for the 2009 Trans(gender) Day of Remembrance (TDoR), I looked for the first time at the list of names of trans people who have lost their lives in the past year, most often simply because of who they are. I was shocked to see a list of names that was larger than any I had seen since being involved with TDoR. I have counted twice and there are 88 or 89 names on that list. I don't have words to express to you how I feel about that right now. That is almost 4x the rate of deaths per month as last year! I am outraged that people can be so filled with fear and hate toward anyone who is different, who believes or lives outside of their narrow understanding or definition of what is right, or good, or normal that they deem it appropriate to take the life of another simply because of who they are. I am outraged that hate crimes laws in our country still do not explicitly include gender identity as protected grounds.
But as I reflected on this in the shadow of a memorial I watched at church today. Mothers, fathers, spouses, children and relatives of people who had died over this past year lit candles and were given a flower of remembrance. I cannot help but wonder how many of the many trans people who have lost their lives were left unremembered today. How many families do not even know their loved one is dead because they have cast them out. How many grieve in silence because their trans loved one cannot be named aloud. What a tragedy! A tragedy that should outrage every one of us out of our silence and complacency. A tragedy that should make us angry and push us into the streets!
On November 20th we will remember these souls, each and every one of these beautiful souls taken too soon. Rest assured that just because some feel these souls cannot be named it will not be so. They will be named - out loud! Their lives will be held up and honoured. We must never forget them. We must learn to stand shoulder to shoulder, trans and non, and say we will name, we will remember, we will stand and we will shout in anger until not another life is lost simply because of who they are.
But today on All Saints Day and through tomorrow I will commit to remember the lives of these 89 souls who enriched our world and are now lost...
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