Club Anthro, the GCC anthropology
Club, is getting into
the holiday swing with a bake
sale and a field trip to the
Hollywood Forever Cemetery on
Oct. 29.

The bake sale benefited
animal rescue organizations
involved in the disaster relief.

In addition to the Latin
American tradition of Dia de los
Muertos, the Day of the Dead,
anthropology students are also
treated to presentations acknowledging
European Pagan traditions.

Strictly speaking, any polytheist
(“many gods”) religion is
considered “pagan,” while
monotheistic (“one god”) religions
are variations on Judaism;
Christianity and Islam, and perhaps
Mithraism. Samhain (pronounced
Sow-an, from a Celtic
word meaning “summer’s end”)
is one of the main Sabbaths, or
holidays, for European Pagans.
In this tradition, the God is
killed, and the Goddess, in Her
aspect of Crone, grieves for his
loss for the next 6 weeks, until
Yule when the God is reborn and
the days lengthen again.

It is a time when the barrier
between this world and the afterlife
is thin and spirits may pass
through. Pagans welcome the
spirits of those they have lost, let
off a little steam before the harsh
times of winter hit, give thanks
for autumn’s bounty, and show
veneration to the Goddess, now
full of the wisdom and power of
her Crone aspect.

Pagans, especially Wiccans,
are sensitive to the public perception
that often labels them as
evil doers. Pagans are not
“devil-worshippers,” as they do
not believe in a Devil, Satan, or
any other malevolent deity.
As this is a time to reminisce
about friends and family who
have passed from our world,
Pagans find that it is also appropriate
to remember the young
people who have fallen in Iraq,
victims of the Tsunami,
Hurricane Katrina, and the
Pakistani Earthquake.

Wendy Fonarow, Club
Anthro’s faculty adviser and
GCC anthropology instructor,
will lecture to the Classified
Council on Thursday in AD 217
from noon to 1 p.m. about the Day
of the Dead.

The Dia de los Muertos
event at Hollywood Forever is
not to be missed. Club Anthro
will be meeting at 4 p.m. at the
marigold-bedecked fountain
near the entrance to cemetery.
Yma Suma, singing sensation
of the 50’s, will be performing
at 5:15 p.m.

Hollywood Forever is a
recently restored historical
cemetery that features the
graves as such Hollywood
luminaries as Cecil B. DeMille,
Jayne Mansfield, Rudolph
Valentino, and Douglas
Fairbanks. Club Anthro meets
the first and third Tuesdays at 3
p.m. at Cafe Vaquero.

Hollywood Forever is located
at 6000 Santa Monica Blvd. in
Hollywood. For more information
visit www.hollywoodforever.com.