El DÃa de los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
October 31- November 2
Leaves are rustling, headstones are glowing and sweet smells are in the air. Death is deeply respected in the Mexican culture and has their very unique way of worshipping those who had passed on. As many of you have seen the Disney Pixar movie Coco, you may understand this holiday a little more than most...although I haven't gone to La Tierra de los Muertos (land of the dead) yet.
Corresponding to Halloween, the day of the day has a similar idea of understanding this time of the year is a time where our world and the spirit world become immensely closer. The veil between worlds becomes thin and the of the Mexican Culture see this as a time when their deceased loved ones come back to our world.
Certain days have correspondences to the Spirits who visit.
November 1st welcomes Spirits of children for 24 hours. Offerings which you would expect are toys, candies, snacks, photos, and their name written on the famous sugar skull.
November 2 welcomes the Spirits of Adults in which offerings would be as you would expect more adult things. These could be tequila,, pan de Puerto, pulque.
Most of the time families will dance, play games together and reminisce on the memories.
In respecting their deceased ones, many set out favorite dishes, music, and decorations that their loved ones adored in their human life. These altars are usually decorated in marigolds (like the petals from Coco) and photos of the departed to encourage visits from the land of the dead. the special part of the marigolds os that they guide the spirits to their offerings and since the color is orange that allows to attract strength to them. As a result of setting up the altar like this, those who are departed will smell their foods and hear prayers as well as their favorite music like a big welcome party. Some may say it is a family reunion with departed loved ones.
If you have walked into a Party City (which is so sad but that is a different topic) you may know that they have costumes of skeleton men and women. During the actual holiday, people do paint faces like skeletons. Usually the paint face with a smile so they they laugh in the face of death.
Many countries vary in they traditions they practice...
Ecuador: November 2nd
- Colorful Pastries
- Guaguas de pan (shape of baby)
Guatemala: November 1st
- Festival of Giant Kites
Locals of town of Sumpango fly enormous kites in honor of loved ones...kites are used to communicate with the dead.
Philippines:
Light candles, clean cemeteries, honor deceased relatives, celebrate their legacies.
Haiti:
Honor Voodoo spirit related to death and fertility at cemeteries, family events and religious sites. Celebrate with dancing, rituals and feasts.
El Salvador: honor the dead by dressing as skeletons and parading with torches. This is more nationalism and honoring indigenous culture.
Having such limited time considering the veil being its thinnest, many countries and peoples have made their own traditions. No matter what country we are in, we all have a deeper connection to those who have passed away and through our DNA (Skeletal system) we represent the legacy of those that have lived before us. We are sop connected to those who we cal out ancestors that not even Death can separate us.