Dining with the Dead is Love?

No! We are not talking about feeding Zombies or Vampires. But, yes! We are talking about breaking bread with the dead. A Dumb Supper is a serious meal meant for ghosts; our passed-over-loved-ones to be exact.

A traditional Dumb Supper is served on all Hollow’s Eve in private homes on a plate at a family table. It begins at midnight with a prayer of thanksgiving, is shrouded in complete respectful silence, and culminates in a celebration of spirits. The Dumb Supper is an ancient tradition where the dead attend the living for a magical night of communion.

Dining with the dead is another way of saying, “I love you.”

A Dumb Supper is a bridge between the living and the dead built with love and traversed by loved-ones. It is a centuries-old tradition with roots in Europe and branches in America.

We understand the concept of death as spirit leaving the body. But, what about the idea of spirits returning for dinner?

We regularly show our love for the deceased by talking to them at their place of burial, taking gifts of flowers, lighting candles for them in our places of worship, and displaying their pictures as a token of our enduring love. On the anniversary of their passing, we have moments of silence, song, and food where we live, work and pray.

So, is setting a place for the dead at our dinner table going too far?

Those who practice the Dumb Supper on All Hallows’ Eve don’t think so. The Dumb Supper is a reverent event that discourages conversation of any kind.

Dumb Supper literally means quiet meal — mum’s the word–Shhh!

Silence during the meal is of the utmost importance, therefore electronics and motors that beep, buzz or squeak are turned off or unplugged. This includes television sets, refrigerators, and freezers. No cell phones, notepads or computers are permitted in the dining area during the dinner.

These special meals take place on Samhain, October 31st which is also known as Halloween and All Saints’ Eve; the evening of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows’ Day.

This practice, celebrated worldwide, is one of the largest gatherings at the Festival of the Dead in Salem, Massachusetts.

Why would the veil between the living and the dead be thinner on Halloween day than at any other time? Because, intention powered by the flame of love is a powerful tool.

Perhaps collective intention empowered through prayer and meditation, can literally pull aside the curtain of death so the dead can once again share time and space in the land of the living in the form of a spiritual supper.

Here is how the Dumb Supper works.

The evening opens with a blessing where each attendee is guided through the veil between the worlds to the realms of the dead where no one living may speak.

After the family meal is cooked, the table is set with an empty place setting filled with food. In keeping with tradition, the courses of The Dumb Supper are served backwards and the placement of everything down to the silverware is reversed as a means of weaving participants into the shadowy world of spirit. Rather than starting the meal with soup and salad, it begins with desert. It almost begs the question, “Is this an example of the saying, ‘Life is short, so eat dessert first.’” Soup and salad are served at the end of the dinner, much like European dining customs.

The extra place setting is for dead ancestors to enjoy a meal with living family members.

Photographs of the deceased are often placed on the table as an invitation; a spirituality and metaphysical first step in manifesting a desired outcome.

So, rather than mourning the deceased, let’s celebrate their memory, and see who comes to dinner, because love is something we can take with us to the-other-side. And, under certain circumstances, like an invitation to a Dumb Supper, love may bring family members back from the dead, to break bread once more with the living.

photo credit: author Kathleen O’Keefe-Kanavos personal photo

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Kathleen O’Keefe Kanavos is a TV/Radio Host/Producer, International Bestselling award winner author and three-time breast cancer survivor whose dreams diagnosed her illness. She’s been published in medical journals. Learn more @ www.KathleenOKeefe-Kanavos.com