Dia de los Muertos:
a tradition to honor the dead
Traditionally, Dia de los Muertos is celebrated in Mexico on November 2, the day after All Saints Day on Nov. 1. During this celebration, the dead are remembered and honored in public. Offerings (ofrendas) of food and water are made to summon the spirits of those who have already made the transistion from life to death. Unlike Halloween in the United States, death is not seen as scary or sad, but seen as a logical conclusion of a well-lived life. Those who die remain "alive" to us if we remember them. This perspective has its roots in the indigenous past of Mexico, and lives on in our own celebrations of Dia de los Muertos.
A few important elements:
Recuerdos - Pictures or objects of value that remind us of those who have gone on the "long life".
Food (comida) - to "feed" and "celebrate" with both the souls of the dead and the living.
Candles (velas) - both light the way for the dead to "find" us and symbolize the transition from the material world to the spirit world ( a solid becoming a vapor).
Flowers (flores) - symbolize the quick transition from "beauty" to "nothingness". In particular, we use Marigolds (cempasuchitl) flowers that traditionally are associated with the ceremony.
Water (agua) - represents "clarity" or "transparency" of life; also is among the four principal "elements" recognized by tradition.
Seeds (semillas) - represents the relationships between death ( the end of the fruit) and the beginning of life ( the ability to sow life again).
The levels of each ALTAR have a particular meaning:
Altars usually include elements according to age
or stage of life, but some are specific to a person
or direction.
