A Deep Dive Into Día de los Muertos

Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a holiday celebrated by Latino culture on November 1st and 2nd so that they always remember their loved ones who passed. Día de los Muertos is a celebration that originated from indigenous people from Mesoamerica who saw death as a continuation in the afterlife, although when the Spanish came, “European traditions intertwined with Indigenous rituals of remembrance, creating a blended celebration that honored both Christian and pre-Hispanic understandings of life and death” (Britannica). 

Día de los Muertos is a very important holiday to many Latinos because it is a way to show love and remembrance to their family and friends who are no longer with them in person but in spirit. By celebrating this holiday, people are able to remember and keep those important people alive in their hearts. Many people celebrate Día de los Muertos by making an ofrenda (altar) of their family or friends who passed in their homes and putting their photo on it with candles, their favorite foods, favorite drinks, and flowers. If they can, people will also go to that person's grave and decorate it the same way they would an ofrenda with many flowers, food, and drinks. Families like to hang out and spend time together eating food and telling stories of those who passed so that that person stays remembered by family members and continues to live in their hearts. 

A specific flower is always seen during the time of Día de los Muertos called cempasúchil, or more commonly known as a marigold. These flowers are used because it is a belief that they can help guide the spirits of people's loved ones back to their family. It is also common for people to wear makeup to make themselves look like a calavera (skull) and wear vibrant colors during parades and public celebrations of Día de los Muertos. 

Foods that are connected with Día de los Muertos would be pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and sugar skulls. Pan de muerto is a sweet bread that is eaten during this time and put on ofrendas; pan de muerto also symbolizes the cycle of life and death. Sugar skulls are blocks of sugar in the shape of a skull that are decorated with colorful icing that are also often found on ofrendas to offer to the dead. 

Día de los Muertos is an amazing holiday filled with vibrant colors, music, food, love, and joy. It symbolizes how Latino people believe that there is a place beyond death because people will always remember their loved ones and keep them alive in their memories and hearts.

Image Courtesy of Eneas De Troya.