So, the long awaited Dia de los Muertos explanation... thanks for your patience.
Our Church's offerring:
Well just a quick mention of Halloween. We decided to share our holiday with Santa Fe and throw a halloween party. Although I must admit, after seeing Dia de Los Muertos, we are seriously lacking on our holiday traditions. We did manage to find pumpkins to have for carving but Im pretty positive these pumpkins were not made for carving because we literally had to use a piece of wood to beat the knife into the tough pumpkin. Either way I think everyone had fun with this project. I made some dirt pudding and we had lots of drinks and dessert and it turned into a fun night. Lots of people wore costumes and it was a fun night.
As for Dia De los Muertos... Well I am now a huge fan of this holiday. I must admit prior to living here I found the skeletons and skulls a little morbid and freaky, however after experiencing my first Dia de los Muertos in Mexico I know realize what a wonderful holiday it is. Immediately upon realizing its arrival I was intrigued by the idea of the holiday. Mexicans put out an offering of different things so that on November 2nd when their deceased family members return to earth to visit them they can once again enjoy the food and things they enjoyed in life. The 1st is the day the deceased children come back to visit and the 2nd is the day adults come. Jess mentioned that they had put out an offerring in the chapel last year and I decided that I wanted to put out an offering for my mom. Actually not really until the day before did I really decide I was going to do it but I think it turned out well. This is what it entailed:
1. a glass of water
2. Salt- signifying the spice of life and enjoying life.
3. Candles- to honor your deads memory.
4. Flowers.
5. Dia de los Muertos bread- which is a certain kind of bread only sold around this holiday that is round covered in sugar and sort of looks like it has an octopus on top...
6. Any special kinds of food or dishes that this family member liked. Sometimes people will put out their favorite kind of beer or drink as well. (yes I wanted to put Diet Dr. Pepper but they don't have it here in Mexico...it was there in my mind).
7. Many people place chocolate, sugar or paper machey (no clue how to spell that) skulls in order to remember those living and left behind.
8. Papel Picado- paper cut-out decoration... not sure why we include this but its cute.
Anyway, many people go to the cemetary and decorate the graves with tons of flowers and candles and have parties to celebrate the days. Thanks to the influence of the US many kids and some adults dress up in costumes to celebrate the day as well. Lisa, Caro, Josue and I all went to this college UNAM and were able to see their offerrings made by student groups. They had bands playing and theater skits and it was a lot of fun...minus the cold. brrr..
Ok well Im not sure if I left anything out or even if I got everything right. but these were the important parts of the day. It really is great way to honor your dead and feel happy about your passed away loved ones coming to visit you on earth again. I spent a good amount of time gluing flowers to this little arch and decorating my offerring for my mom, it felt nice to put all my love and effort into something for her again. And I felt very happy to take time to remember her living and what she loved in life. This holiday brought me a lot of joy and I may even consider doing it again when I return to the US.
In Memory of My Mom, Jess's Grandparents & Lisa's Grandpa
All my Love.
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