Los Dias de Los Muertos
The Days of the Dead
by Julie Amaro, Connections Language School, La Peñita de Jaltemba, amarojewels@gmail.com
The Days of the Dead is a very ancient holiday in Mexico that traces its origins back to Pre-hispanic times. It is often misunderstood by other cultures and in recent years has been heavily appropriated as a “Mexican Halloween” holiday. While there are some similarities between the two, the Days of the Dead have a lot more significance than just a day to dress up and eat sweets.
The official Days of the Dead are the first, second and third days of November, but it actually begins a few days early on October 27th. It is a holiday to remember and celebrate family members (including pets) and close friends who have recently passed on. Celebrants begin by constructing an alter nearby or facing the front door of their home. Sometimes white candles are placed leading the way from the outer gate to the alter. Alters typically have at least three levels and as many as ten. They can be enormous and very elaborate or small and simple. They usually have a white cloth or sheet as the base. This is covered with several sheets of colored tissue paper or papel picado. At the highest level a picture of the honored departed loved one is placed. All of the traditional decorations are made to only last a few days as a reminder to us of our own mortality. Papel picado is made out of tissue paper and is used to decorate the streets as well as the alters. Sugar skulls are also sold to place on alters as offerings as well as a special sweet bread called “pan de muerto”. Fresh white flowers and the seasonal Cempasúchil (marigold) flowers are common offerings as well.
Starting on October 27th and continuing through November 3rd, symbolic offerings are placed on the alter. The twenty-seventh of October is the “Day of Pets” and the day to set up the alter with a picture of each loved one, a white candle and a small bowl of water. The twenty-eighth is the day of violent deaths or suicides, who are remembered with another white candle and anything else that has a meaning for them and you. The twenty-nineth is the day to honor people who have died from drowning, with another white candle. The thirtieth is for children in limbo, or unbaptized children or children that were never born, honored with another candle and a white flower. At midnight on Halloween we bid good bye to any visitors from the days in October and prepare to welcome the (baptized) children. November first is All Saint’s Day or in Spanish, “Dia de Todos los Santos” and it is traditionally to honor children or los muertos chiquitos. On this day another white candle is added as well as favorite foods and drinks of the departed, such as atole, chocolate, sweets, tamales, pan de muerto, nuts and seeds. Flowers called Cempasúchil or “Aztec marigolds” are added to the white flowers on the alter along with the favorite food and drinks. The Náhuatl associate these flowers with the sun, and for this reason they are important offerings to honor the dead. November second is for los muertos grandes or adults who died of natural causes. It is the day families visit the cemetery to clean and decorate the loved one’s grave stone. On the alter the favorite foods and drinks of the adults are placed, such as tequila, beer or coffee, and their favorite snacks.
By now the alter is full of candles, flowers and offerings. There are parades in almost every town featuring people in elaborate costume as catrinas, their faces painted to resemble skulls. As macabre as this may appear to someone unfamiliar with the tradition, the intent is not to frighten anyone, rather to celebrate the memory of loved ones who have passed on. The dead are often depicted dancing, playing musical instruments, eating and drinking because it is a day of celebration, of uniting the souls of the living with the souls of the dead.
The idea that the veil between the spirit world and the physical world thins around the beginning of November allowing spirits to visit is not unique to Mexico and is in fact a common theme around the world. In fact, before Halloween was commercialized beyond recognition, it was also a holiday to honor dead relatives and the jack-o-lanterns were made to show the spirits the way home. It is a beautiful reminder that those who have died or not “gone forever”, but merely exist on another plane. Physics teaches us that energy never disappears, it changes form, but never dissipates entirely and at its most basic level, all life is energy.
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