Dia de los muertos

The Day of the dead was a very memorable Day for us...we have tried to incorporate and learn as much as possible the wonderful festivals and traditions of this incredibly rich  and wise culture.

First of all, I had heard previously about this celebration, but never really quite understood as I do now, the meaning and the strong influence on the people of Mexico and all the other countries where it is celebrated.

Our first encounter with the festival was at the supermarket, where we found a delicious sweet bread called "pan de muerto", the lady at the bakery who noticed I was not from around here when I asked what that was, explained to me, that it is a special bread only made during this time of the year and used to decorate the altar.
I took a picture to remember and boy....do I wish I could it eat all year round...it is delicious!!

As the day grew closer, we started hearing stories about how different families celebrate the day differently.
The main ritual starts by decorating an altar with pictures of loved ones who have died or how it is commonly said here:  "nuestros muerticos"
 Much thought and loving effort is put into the preparation of elaborate meals such as mole, tamales, etc..to make sure that the altar has the soul's favorite dish carefully and lovingly prepared by the family...hot chocolate for grandma, a special brand of tabacco even if that is what grandpa loved to smoke.
My first impression at this was of awe...how important and rewarding must be to be able to invite your loved ones who are still very much a part of who you are into your house, into your heart and prepare that special date with joy.  
A very typical flower is used also to decorate the altar is an orange flower called " cempasuchil"  I heard that in some families, a trail of petals is made to make sure the souls know the way in to the house.
On the altar, one candle is lit for every soul you want to invite to the celebration.
Also, a little sugar skull is used to decorate the altar and a lot of times, it has the person's name on the forehead.

A glass of water is also placed on the altar for the souls to drink after their long journey back home and incense is burned to clear the area from bad spirits so the souls can arrive without any danger.

Some families, take a lot of the food from the altar on the night of November 2nd to the cemetery where they go to celebrate and have a big party a lot of times with mariachis and they sing and dance all night long with their loved ones here on earth and in heaven who are now rejoicing in this special day back home.

Wow...I am still impressed as I write all of these...what a ritual, how special and important to be able to relate to death in such a way, to learn from an early age about the importance of keeping that relationship alive, to acknowledge their presence and to be joyful when we think about them even though we miss them soo much.  What a gift!!

I will definitely take on this festival as one of the most important ones in our celebrations throughout the year.  I want my children to grow up remembering their great grandma whom they lost a year back, with joy in their hearts, to cook for her once a year, to look at her picture, light a candle and tell stories about all the special time we spent together.

And this is just what we did, we decorated our altar an prepared it a week in advance, and on the day of, even though Santiago was not feeling well, Daniel and I went downstairs while brother slept, and prepared tequenos for "bis", we lit a candle and talked about her for a while.
We love you so much Bis!
On a side note, next year we will choose a higher table for our altar because cookie was able to reach and ate the tequennos....:)  I'm sure bis was laughing from up high!!