Let’s Celebrate! It’s Day of the Dead!!!

Kimberly Aranda, Editor|November 2, 2017

Skeletons made out of clay and painted, used as decorations or to be put on an altar.

It’s finally November! You know what that means… bring out your comfy sweaters and hot chocolate or coffee because you will be learning about a holiday that is celebrated around this time of year. Today you’ll learn about some of the history behind Dia De Los Muertos, or also known as, The Day of the Dead. Dia De Los Muertos originated from Mexico and it is a very special and important holiday in that country. Although The Day of the Dead is strongly celebrated in Mexico it is also celebrated throughout Latin America and the U.S. Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 2nd, Dia de los Inocentes is celebrated on the 1st which is to honor deceased children.

This is the altar my mother and I made for our deceased family members.

Dia de los Muertos originated from the Aztecs and dates all the way back 2,500 to 3,000 years ago. The Aztecs had a festival that lasted for 2 months and was dedicated to their Goddess Mictecacíhuatl; she ruled the Underworld and was the Goddess of Death. They would honor figures of “death” hence the present way Hispanics honor their loved ones and honor those who have passed in their family.

There are two things that people normally would associate Day of the Dead with, and those two things are sugar skulls and Pan de Muertos (Bread of the Dead). The Pan de Muertos has symbolic meanings, the middle of the bread (shown on the bottom right)

This is a Pan de Muertos that my mother bought for our alter.

represents a skull, the lines connecting to the middle (the skull) are the bones, and the overall round shape of the bread represents The Cycle of Life and Death. Before sugar skulls were made people would celebrate using actual skulls. The sugar skulls are decorated and some can be labeled by the name of a deceased loved one. Each skull represents one person, or skeletons participating in the activities of the living, like dancing, singing, cooking, playing, or whatever the living do on an everyday basis. Please note that Dia de los Muertos is NOT Halloween. Dressing up as a sugar skull or anything related to the holiday is extremely disrespectful and it takes away the true meaning and charm of the holiday, please respect others cultures. Now that you know more about Dia de los Muertos try and find out more about the holiday and maybe even ask people how they celebrate it and see for yourself.