Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is a holiday celebrated in Mexico and in other Hispanic cultures throughout the world. When the Spanish colonized Mexico and other western lands, their religious holy days, All Hallow’s Eve, All Saints Day, and All Soul’s Day became intertwined with more ancient indigenous traditions. Dia de Los Muertos, is celebrated by Hispanic cultures to celebrate the memories of ancestors and to celebrate the continuity of life. Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on Nov. 1 (All Saints’ Day) and 2 (All Souls’ Day).
The actual date of celebration varies according to local and traditional customs and around here its the day after halloween. We have been making little "altars" with little skeletons and skulls to symbolize loved ones that we want to be happy in the after life. This is a blurry sample of the eight or so 'calaveras' or skulls that we have made. (all pictures are from my phone)
Without a doubt the 'altars' that I make are far from traditional - they arent even close. I have two more to post in a few more hours when I finish up the little little details. (this is an example of a work in progress)
We are gearing up for a little gathering we are going to have to celebrate this occasion so there will be some food and perhaps even more altars - stay tuned! Mexico on our minds!
20 comments:
did you ever see that episode on GlobeTrekker (on PBS)? It was quite good.
Since 1/2 of my family speak Spanish...coming from Mexico both Spanish and Mexican descent...
I am aware of the day of the dead...Nice to see someone celebrating it.. I wonder what kind of dishes you will make?
The alter looks great!
Neat altar. I have several friends getting ready for the occasion, too.
So Creative! I love the colors! In Norway we have All Saints Day, and before Halloween came from abroad it was a quiet and thoughtful day. These days these gets mixed up with costumes, sweets, parties etc but people still put candles and flowers on their loved ones graves.
Those are beautiful- I love Dia de los Muertos. Once I spent it in Cancun, traveling across in a VW Bug to Chichen Itza- a great memory. Thanks.
I love the skulls :) When I lived in Kansas City, there was a HUGE parade celebrating this--good times.
thanks for that bit of history. i had NO idea what that was...we should be celebrating it like cinco de mayo then. any excuse....
this is cool, i learned something new today.
On the surface it looks kind of bizarre, but with explanation- not so much...
Great to learn more about this holiday. The altars are neat!
I love this time of year.
alters are soo neat!! soo creative!!!
Your kid must feel really cool with celebrations like this around him. Mine, they just carve pumpkins and try to keep the dog from eating them.
great stories... this is what i surf blogs for. Thanks for letting us look in on you celebration
Very cool! In Italy they pack up lunch and eat at the cemetery with their loved ones that have passed. I love that strong family bond.
How fun! I like this kinda celebration!
Beautiful work. Say, do you have a source for sugar skulls?
Everything looks awesome! I'm contemplating my pan de muerto right now...and hoping I'll get a chance to make some sugar skulls, too.
Very cool and thanks for the story and the images. In Italy, the Day of the Dead is celebrated with Pane dei Morti, a kind of spicy molasses gingerbread cookie filled with pine nuts so you feel like you are crunching the bones of the dead when you eat them. And they are delicious! I must make some!
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