Today is the last day of Día de Muertos, All Souls Day, a special time of remembrance of all those who’ve passed on. These two gorgeous picture books describe with beautiful illustrations and words the meaning of this Mexican holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2.
How beautiful is Mexico and its traditions. They say that us Mexicans celebrate everything and death is not the exception.
Naked we come to this world and naked we leave.
Today at sundown the dead return to the underworld and the doors close for another year. We serve them hot food for them to carry on their long journey back, and keep their memory in our hearts.
The ofrenda is taken down and shared, along with our mutual memories and anecdotes of the departed, with family, friends and neighbors.
We all know her feathered hat and her skeleton grin: La Catrina is the iconic symbol of Día de Muertos, and her origins are way more specific than one could imagine.
José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican engraver, created her in 1912, but died long before he could ever know the huge impact his prints would have for decades to come.
On this Dia de Los Muertos during these troubled times we are paying homage to the defenders and liberators in our family. They fought against bigotry abroad then returned to fight bigotry on home. May their spirits and examples give us strength. #diademuertos#diadelosmuertos
My daughter made an altar to honor my late brother one day earlier this year, she was very fond of her uncle. Today, we converted it into an ofrenda and included my wife's grandparents who helped raise her. She's a quarter Mexican, her great grandparents were Mexican immigrants. We lit up some candles so they can find their way home tonight, and made offerings of some of their favorite things.
"In Haitian Vodou culture, November 1-3 is when we celebrate the pantheon of the cemetery, which we call the Gede. Along with the Gede, we celebrate our ancestors, personal blood relatives who have passed. We give offerings of the food and drinks they like... It's a period of honoring and celebrating the connection between the living and the dead."
— Manbo Jessyka Winston of Haus of Hoodoo
Día de Muertos is here. Even if you're not Mexican, you can take a moment to remember those that you loved who died. Today is for the children, tomorrow is for the adults. I don't pray, but I can still honor my memories of them. That's what Día de Muertos is about. Also gonna make my kids watch Coco again.
It is said the dead can only consume scents, so we try to make everything on the ofrenda as fragrant as possible, choosing fruits, sweets, liquors and spices with strong and pleasant odor.
In the tradition we follow the doors to the underworld open at 8pm on the 31st of October, so we try to have the ofrenda ready before that and light the candle and incense as the clock strikes 8.
The road between the world of the dead and the living is dark difficult, so it’s very important to keep the candle burning all the time until November 2 at sundown to keep them safe on their journey.
At sundown the doors to the underworld close again for another year and the ofrenda is shared among the family and friends.
Whether you believe the dead come back to visit us or not, the Día de Muertos ofrenda is a beautiful tradition that helps us honor and keep alive the memory of our loved ones who are no longer among us. It’s also important to remember that it is not a sad and solemn occasion where we commemorate death. On the contrary, it’s a festive time to celebrate life and laugh at death in the face of our own mortality.
That’s why instead of crying, we paint our face as calacas (skulls), we visit the tombs of our dead with mariachis, we dance and sing and wish each other a ¡Feliz Día de Muertos! (Happy day of the dead!)
I hope you enjoyed this little thread with my attempt to at least partially explain and describe a very rich and complex part of Mexican culture.
Following tradition with our yearly day of the dead ofrenda. Today the doors of Mictlán (the underworld) open for our departed ones to visit once again. We set this offerings for them to enjoy, feast and be merry 🌼🕯️💀🕯️🌼