Since we don't have an American annual ritual of ancestor veneration, then I think it would feel awkwar to try to start doing that, especially if as Epicureans we don't believe that a spirit survives death.
I find a bit of a facsimile in Memorial Day.
On a less serious note...
Maybe we should proclaim October 31st as "Dress up like an ancient Greek or Roman" day! 
Lately I've become interested in Dia de los Muertos as something compatible with EP. At least as far as remembering and celebrating our deceased loved ones. It probably has a supernatural element that isn't compatible but, at least for me that's easily ignored.
Here in southern California the decorations abound and it seems to be widely celebrated, so it's kind of a natural fit. Probably not so much in the Southern states....
I may have seen one of those funeral masks Kalosyni.
Years ago, the museum here, had an exposition of Roman artifacts. One of which was a couple of bronze masks of people from that era. One! I remember had extremely deep wrinkles! He must have got a tremendous amount of Mediterranean Sun in this day.
Here in southern California the decorations abound and it seems to be widely celebrated, so it's kind of a natural fit. Probably not so much in the Southern states....
Here in San Antonio, Texas, Dia de los Muertos is widely celebrated and does include supernatural elements at odds with core EP teachings. However some elements such as leaving offerings for the ancestors at the ofrenda, like personal items belonging to the deceased, calavera de azucar, (sugar skulls), pan de muerto, wearing and offering cempasuchitl can be appropriated into a sort of Epicurean ancestor veneration. It seems to me that it's an easy extension of the Eikas remembrance of Epicurus and Metrodorus, provided we don't expect their spirits to visit us lol.
It's really a fun time here, more focused on the joy of someones life, the memories they left and the lessons taught. Let alone the celebration of our still being alive.
(On a personal note, the prevalence of La Catrina statues everywhere is one of my favorite things about the season! (also San Antonio is home to the 2nd largest La Catrina in the world!)
It's really a fun time here, more focused on the joy of someones life, the memories they left and the lessons taught. Let alone the celebration of our still being alive.
That sounds like a perfect fit.
Wrote my first substack using this thread as inspiration. Let me know if you have any pointers to help me sharpen my point. https://substack.com/@sanantoniogar…-action&r=ducj6
Great to see that you are writing on substack - very good article!
