Día de Los Muertos Celebration

The Día de Los Muertos celebration calls souls from where they are currently residing and invites them back to our reality as esteemed visitors. It’s kind of like a family reunion, but with deceased ancestors as the guests of honor. The holiday originated in Mexico, but is celebrated throughout Latin America and wherever folks from that part of the world live. The origins of Día de Los Muertos is deeply rooted in pre-Hispanic rituals related to the goddess Mictecacihuatl (Meek-tay-cah-say-watt), or the Lady of the Dead, who allowed spirits to travel back to earth to commune with family members. The Aztec culture considered souls to continuously live and enter different realms when a body would die. When the Spaniards arrived in Mexico, they blended that tradition with the Roman Catholic observance of All Saints Day. Usually celebrated November 1 – 2 (or more days in some places), this multi-day holiday is a time for celebrants to gather and pay respects and remember friends and family who’ve passed. It’s also an occasion for festivities and an invitation to reflect on life and death. It’s a way of maintaining a healthy and intimate relationship with the unknown. The celebration isn’t focused entirely on the dead; folks exchange gifts such as candy sugar skulls (calaveras). Sometimes they’ll write light-hearted, often irreverent verses in the form of mock epitaphs dedicated to the living, known as calaveras literarias. They also share memories and fun anecdotes of the departed, as they gather to clean up and adorn gravesites.

Ofrendas

Ofrendas, or “offerings,” are altar displays presented in a home, cemetery or church to commemorate and welcome back the souls of loved ones in the family. They often have several tiers, with the topmost one showing pictures of the dead person invited to the altar as well as images of various saints, statuettes of the Virgin Mary and crucifixes. The second tier down has things placed to encourage the dead to feel at home, such as their favorite food and drink, toys (if a child) or other items dear to the departed. The bottom tier will hold candles and maybe a washbasin with mirror, soap and towel so the spirit of the deceased can see and refresh themselves when they get to the altar. Incense from the resin of copal trees is also used, to produce smells that will scare away evil spirits.

Marigolds

The Aztecs believed that their departed ancestors needed the scent of marigolds, or cempasúchil (sempah-soo-cheel), to find their way back from the burial place to their family homes. Both the blooms and the stems give off a distinct scent, reminding everyone living and dead of the path to the celebration. In some places, marigolds are actually called flor de muerto, or “flowers of the dead.” The brightly-colored flowers also add to the celebratory nature of the holiday, lending their sunshine and a festive air with their beauty to an event centered around death. No altar/ofrenda is complete without marigolds, and sometimes the petals are picked and spread in a path to lead the way.

Food/Libations

There are plenty of edible treats to enjoy during Día de los Muertos. Pan de Muerto is a yeasted “pan dulce” baked especially for the occasion, traditionally flavored with orange water and/or zest and dusted in sugar. It’s eaten at the gravesite or ofrenda of the returning departed, or given as a gift to other celebrants. In some regions, it’s eaten for months before the official celebration. Meals that warm and fortify the celebrants are also popular. Sopa Azteca — tortilla soup — is a popular favorite, as are Oaxacan hot chocolate, Café de Olla (spiced coffee), tamales of all sorts, and dishes with mole. Other dishes include a wide variety of ingredients, such as the Guatemalan Fiambre — a salad featuring lots of different pickled veggies, cheeses, and cold cuts — ingredients that many families bring to the cemetery. Marigolds can also be an ingredient in drinks — tea, cocktails featuring marigold-infused tequila — and rice cooked with dried petals, tortillas with the petals pressed into the dough, and salads or salad dressing.