History–
Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated on November 1st, although some people start to celebrate around October 31st and continue to celebrate it till around the 6th of November. People believe this is a time the dead come back once a year to visit them. Dia de los Muertos originated in Mexico and became largely developed especially by people of Mexican heritage.
Ofrendas–
Día de los Muertos is a chance to connect the bridge between life and death, a way to honor loved ones who have passed by keeping their memory alive. Families normally celebrate by setting up a photo of the loved once and offering foods and drinks their loved ones enjoyed. They also commonly place marigolds as they are believed to serve as the pathway to the mortal world. Dia de los Muertos is an occasion for remembering and celebrating those who have passed, yet at the same time representing death in a positive light. “For example, my dad loves sweet bread, so we put sweet bread, and my abuelito loved to drink so we put a little alcohol next to his pictures and for my doggy, for Coco we just put his favorite snack,” says Amanda Quintanilla, a local downtown shop owner.
Activities–
An activity children can partake in would be to decorate sugar skulls. Sugar skulls are significant on day of the dead. Sugar skulls are decorated with colorful icing and glitter. They can be eaten or set on the altar as an offering. Another fun craft activity would be making paper marigolds out of tissue paper. For your loved ones, some could also make sweet bread to set on the altar.
Facts-
People believed that after death, the soul was to travel to “Chicunmictan,” aka, the land of the dead. Yet this is only after getting through nine challenges and a journey of several years. Only then could the person’s soul finally make it to “Mictlan” which was believed to be the final resting place for souls. The most noticeable symbol related to the Dia de los Muertos are calacas (skeletons) and calaveras (skulls).
For more information on Día de los muertos, you can check out this article: Day of the dead (Día de los Muertos)
