Recordando Dia de los Muertos - Recalling Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead Photo by Loren Javier
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"The cult of life, if it is truly profound and total, is also the cult of death, because the two are inseparable”  ~ Octavio Paz

The “Day of the Dead” and Halloween are my favorite holidays! Not to confuse these holidays, Halloween is celebrated on the 31st of October and the Day of the Dead, the 2nd of November.  Both holidays, however, are centered around death. In Mexico, the Day of the Dead is a ritual practiced by the indigenous people before the Spanish conquest. Still today, this ritual is celebrated in modern Mexico.

I remember that a week prior to this celebration, the people in the streets of Ejutla, Oaxaca, Mexico were always very busy making preparations. People were going into town, to blend the cocoa beans for the savory hot chocolate, purchasing fresh corn to prepare the tasty tamales, and stocking up on chili in order to make our Oaxacan specialty, “mole”.  Since everything was made from scratch, it was necessary to start the preparations well ahead of time.  This was a special time for me as a child because during visits to my neighbors and friends I would always find special snacks.

In our family, we prepared the altar on the 1st of November.  My dad and I would take a trip to the market to buy the fruits and flowers for the altar. Because of all the wonderful fruits and vegetables in the stalls, I remember the markets to be very colorful and exciting. Even today as I close my eyes, I still can see the marigolds, the fruits of the season, and the delicious bread.  I can even smell the various aromas that permeated the whole town.  An important part of the altar was a simple but beautiful sugarcane arch. We would take two sugar cane sticks  (each about 6 feet high) and attach them to each leg of a table. The sugarcane would then be connected to form an arch over the altar. Later, we would decorate the arch with marigolds and fruit. On the table we would place the favorite foods and beverages of anyone in our family who had passed on. 

I thought setting up of the altar  with goodies, beverages and memorabilia was fun, but my father's  intent was to encourage the souls to visit our home. The belief of the Day of the Dead is to ensure the souls of the departed know they are still remembered. Pretty creepy I thought but it is a major part of the Mexican culture during the Day of the Dead.  


As is customary, on November 2nd we would take a trip to the cementary to clean the graves of my departed family members. We would pray and put some flowers on the graves. I must admit when I was young all this tradition seemed so boring, except for the goodies. Now, I appreciate the meaning of this holiday: A time for remembering the departed and a time to think that life and death are inseparable and part of life experiences.