Part ancient ritual, part family feast, Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos (or Day of the Dead) celebration starts around Halloween and peaks during the wee hours of Nov. 2 which is called, “All Souls’ Day” in Catholicism. This is a time when tradition says that the souls of departed loved ones return to partake of the offerings (flowers, candles, food and drink) set out for them on ofrendas in homes and cemeteries. Ofrendas are shrines or altars that are constructed to present offerings to the spirits, but unlike Halloween, there’s nothing ghoulish or macabre about this holiday. It is, above all, a thanksgiving of family ties and togetherness, as well as an experience of the seamless continuity of life and death. In some ways it is a triumph over death and therefore becomes a celebration of life. This is because in contrast to Halloween which is filled with demons, witches and images of terror, the Day of the Dead is distinctively different. It demonstrates a strong sense of love and respect for one’s ancestors, celebrates the continuance of life, family relationships, community solidarity, allows people to talk about, and even finds humor in death. In this way death loses some of its terror. These are all very positive concepts.
Often families spend the entire night at the cemetery, enjoying their loved ones’ favorite foods and drinks after the returning spirits have had their share, of course! The most important food to have on hand for Day of the Dead is pan de muerto, a soft round bread covered with sugar that is often decorated with a piece of bread in the shape of bonesor (a skull). It is said to be good luck to be the one who bites into the plastic toy skeleton hidden by the baker in each loaf.
Día De Los Muertos is a colorful flurry of traditional and contemporary festivities celebrating ancestral remembrance, and harvest season rituals from Central Mexican Indigenous cultures. Translated literally as “the Day of the Dead,” this Mexican cultural tradition is a celebration in which the family welcomes back departed loved ones, sharing the joys of life with them as their memories live on. Creative and respectful altars are set up around town at galleries, cultural centers, cemeteries and restaurants to commemorate loved ones who have passed on. Skeleton figures are made to symbolize the deceased as they were when they were alive. These figures often depict the special interests of the departed (such as playing the guitar or dancing) and how they physically looked. This is an important social ritual that the Latino people see as “a way of recognizing the cycle of life and death that is human existence.”
In certain areas, an all-night candlelight vigil takes place by the graves of the family members. The whole occasion is festive, and everyone talks of the dead as if they were still alive. During this time, people “remember, re-live, and enjoy.”
Today, the Day of the Dead is a cherished, complex holiday celebration where death is seen as life. The common principle for this holiday is “whatever pleased the dead in life they are to have again.” It is a holiday when the whole family comes together – both living and dead. This holiday festivity is believed to be a time for the departed to join the living in the celebrations of the “continuum of life.”
-Submitted by Y. Hughes