Dia de Los Muertos in English is translated to “the day of the dead”. It is celebrated on November 1st to honour the dead. This is a typical Latin American tradition that has a mix of indigenous Aztec rituals with Catholicism. This festival is neither a funeral nor a morbid nor a spooky celebration. It is a festival of joy, colour, flavour, celebration, and most importantly an amalgamation of different emotions.
Here is a glance through the rituals :
Mexicans believe that the dead will be insulted by mourning or sadness hence Dia de Los Muertos celebrates the lives of the dead with music, parties, and food that they enjoyed during their life. A very prominent feature of this festival is the decorated altars or ‘ofrendas’. Families create altars at their homes and gravesites with offerings like candles, food that was loved by the deceased, and any favorite book or musical instrument. Further, the family gathers over there to hear stories and clean the graves.
The offerings on the altars are inspired by the four elements of life:
1. Fire - candles are lit up to show the path of the souls
2. Water - pitchers filled with water to quench the thirsts of the spirits of ancestors.
3. Earth - a variety of food loved by the dead during their life is prepared for the dead.
4. Wind - Papel Picado is a vibrant paper banner with cut-outs to allow the souls to pass through.
Another interesting and noticeable feature of this festival is the skeletons. Mexicans by using these skeletons not only to honour their ancestors but also to remind themselves that death is just a part of life and that one day they will also be a skeleton. These skeletons are posed doing all sorts of wacky things like playing the guitar, having a bath, or making tortillas.
We now come to the food part of the festival which is my personal favourite. ‘Pan de Muerto or “bread of the dead” is a dish consumed which is a yeast-based sweet egg bread. Some other delicacies on the plate include ‘Calabaza en Tacha’ (candied pumpkin), ‘Calaveras’ (famous sugar skulls), tamales, atole, and spicy Mexican hot chocolate.
Hence, Dia le Los Meurtos is a beautiful festival celebrated in the Latin American region which highlights a prominent aspect of life that is death and all the dead should be honoured.
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