By ISABEL MENDOZA
Staff Writer
Dia De Los Muertos is a day where we can celebrate or honor loved ones who have passed or the deceased. Assuming that it is a day where we mourn or sadness, Dia De Los Muertos is celebrated with dances, playing, food, parties, dressing up, and activities the dead enjoyed in life. It is celebrated November 1 and 2. November 1 is when children or known as ¨Angelitos¨ cross from the spirit world to the real world. November 2 is when adults crossover.
A combination of Indigenous Aztec ritual with Catholicism, brought by the Spanish conquistadores. Dia De Los Muertos is celebrated on All Saints Day and All Souls Days, which are minor holidays in the Catholic calendar.
The most familiar symbol is calacas and calaveras, skeletons and skulls. They appear everywhere, sugar skulls, parade masks or costumes, as dolls, etc. They are often portrayed as enjoying life, in fancy clothes and entertaining situations.
Almost everyone you meet who celebrates this day will have an altar or ofrenda (offering). To put it in other words it’s like a shrine. To start an ofrenda you put photos of people who have passed, flowers that are called ¨Marigolds¨, candles, food, sugar skulls, and drinks. Sugar skulls are literally made out of sugar which is molded to look like skulls and is decorated with non-edible decor. There are small skulls for children and bigger ones for adults. These decorations to put on your ofrenda are based on the elements, water, fire, air, and earth.
If you want to start celebrating Dia De Los Muertos you should! It’s really easy to start your own ofrenda and to learn more about it.
