Day Of The Dead

Day of the Dead

A celebration of Life

Day of the dead is an extremely important Mexican holiday. It is celebrated on November first and November second. On this holiday a family's lost loved ones are honored and remembered. It's not morbid. It's a festival celebrated with many traditions.

The alters are one of the most important traditions of the Day of the Dead. The alters are made with a table topped with three or more levels of boxes. These boxes are covered with a white tablecloth. Then the decorations are added. The decorations include yellow and orange flowers which are made into garland, wreaths, and crosses. The table is also decorated with photographs. There is a candle for each deceased family member and one extra candle so no one is forgotten. Included on the alter are favorite foods, drinks, and sweets. The basic needs of water to quench the thirst, salt to season the food or for purification, and bread for basic survival are on all alters. There is also a washbasin, soap, towel, mirror, and a comb so that the spirit can clean up. Calaveras which are skeletons depicted as people are placed on the alter. Finally, there are the tools and utensils of everyday use, gourds for carrying water, and cigars and cigarettes.

Copal is an incense burned on the Day of the Dead. Copal is the sap of a Mexican tree, burned as incense since the time of the Aztecs. It was an offering to the gods. On the Day of the Dead, the scent attracts spirits, drawing them home. It is also used to cleanse the area, and to ward off evil.

Another tradition is the use of papel picado. Papel picado is the colorful tissue paper that is cut into intricate designs and hung to flutter around the alter. Papel picado has many colors. There is black for the Prehispanic religious people and land of the dead. Purple papel picado is from the Catholic calendar to signify pain, suffering, grief, and mourning. Pink is for celebration. White is for purity and hope. Yellow and orange is for the marigold, sun, and light; and red represents Christians, the blood of Jesus, and the indigenous people. Papel picado is a custom borrowed from the Aztecs.

Sugar skulls are a fourth interesting tradition. Children look forward to the sugar skulls, because it may be some of the only candy they get all year. The sugar skulls are white with all sorts of colors on them. Sugar skulls are used to show that death is seen as a natural process.