Next Friday and Saturday Mexico will celebrate the Day of the Dead. It is actually celebrated on two days, the first day remembering all of the children who have passed, and the second day the adults. The Day of the Dead is a huge deal here, it started out as a prehispanic tradition, but was incorporated into the Catholic tradition as well. On the Day of the Dead people build altars filled with pictures of the deceased along with their favorite things, food they liked and certain cultural elements. Some of the cultural items are marigold flowers (the flower of the dead), a special bread (literally called bread of the dead), colorful paper cut out into different designs, candy skulls, alcohol like tequila or pulque (for adults), as well as some other regional items. Every region of Mexico tends to decorate their
ofrendas (the altar honoring the deceased) in a little bit of a different ways. Paper mache skeletons are very common as well. Some of the altars are incredibly intricate.
Today Eliana's preschool went on a field trip to the National Museum of Popular Culture where they learned about the Day of the Dead.
There will be ofrendas decorating the entire city soon, and some are extremely unique and intricate. While the U.S. is preparing to celebrate Halloween, Day of the Dead definitely takes presidence here, although Halloween is growing in popularity. I hope to share a few more thoughts about this extremely cultural holiday next week. For now I hope you have a happy Friday and a great weekend!
