Dia de los Muertos

With Halloween gone, it is now the season of the dead, more specifically the day of the dead. More commonly known as Dia de los Muertos, this holiday has been a tradition for centuries, celebrating the aspect of life and death. This time is all about the spirits of the deceased coming back for two days of the year for this special celebration and to reunite with their loved ones. We may all be familiar with the term Dia de los Muertos, but do we actually know what it is?

Dia de los Muertos has been around for almost 3000 years with its origins being traced to mesoAmerica. This holiday was celebrated among the Mayans, Toltec and primarily with the Aztec tribes. It was meant to honor life and its embrace of death. The Nahua people of central Mexico specifically believed that the dead traveled a year to reach Chicunamictlan, the land of the dead according to McKenzie Jean-Philippe, editorial assistant in 2021. They would offer food and water to the deceased through ofrendas that would help them on their journey. The LAPD in 2022 did an editorial piece explaining that this celebration was held at the end of the Gregorian month of July and was a month-long celebration. Now, a month-long holiday is something that I could definitely get behind. It was not only celebrating the dead but also to honor the goddess Mictecacihuatl (Mick-te-ca-c-wa-til). Sanda R, published NY Times writer, details this goddess as being the lady of the dead and watches over the bones of the deceased. When the Spanish conquered the Aztecs in the 16th century, the Catholic Church rejected the Aztec beliefs. History Channel writer Ivan Roman in 2020 explained that the Catholic Church turned the month-long celebration into two days that coincided with their All Saints Day November 1st and 2nd. Talk about a real downgrade from a whole month to only two days. Guess I won’t be getting to take a month off from work now. While some indigenous traditions were kept, Dia de los Muertos is mainly Catholic practices that more represent the celebrations we see today. However, it was not always as extravagant as they are now. According to PR Specialist Rebekah Mejorado in 2020, the early traces of Dia de los Muertos in the US were seen in the 1890s when immigrants from Mexico came here. Their observations of this holiday were more somber with attending mass and visiting graves of the departed. It wasn’t until the 1970s with the Chicano movement that culture and tradition flourished. In 1973, East LA artists and activists held a Dia de los Muertos celebration with indigenous traditions including ofrendas, parades, costumes and artwork that set the standard for future celebrations. Today, we see these parades, food, decorations and other traditions to commemorate the holiday.

Now, let's look at some common ways to celebrate. Ofrendas are altars that are made in honor of loved ones. They typically have photos, food, water, decorations and personal belongings of the loved one. Jean-Philippe explains that ofrendas consist of three main components: Fire, water, earth and air. Fire is seen through candles lit to guide spirits and water is seen through pitchers placed for thirsty spirits after their journey to the land of the living. Earth is represented through two things: food and flowers. First, flowers are typically marigolds. Writer and publisher Kate Pillon in 2021 details that marigolds are used because they help to guide spirits with their vibrant color and intense smell. Second, the most popular food used is pan de muerto which translates to bead of the dead. Don’t worry though, this bread won’t kill you. The Mexican Food Journal writes that its roots are established with Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s and has since been a staple. Pan de muerto is a type of pan dulce (sweet bread) that has hundreds of different recipes. Another popular food is calabaza en tacha which is candied pumpkin because hey, fall is pumpkin spice season. With wind, this is accomplished by decorating ofrendas with papel picado. Jean-Philippe describes these as delicate, bright color paper banners that allow spirits to pass through. There is one additional decoration outside of the elements that is frequent on ofrendas; Sugar skulls. Sugar skulls represent deceased loved ones and are made of sugar and meringue. As we saw with my sugar skull fiasco, these are not meant to be eaten. Arizona Republic writer Shanti Lerner in 2022 explains that these are hard to digest and most times are decorated with sequins, feathers, glitter and other decorations that really shouldn’t be eaten. While it doesn’t take much time to teach about dia de los muertos, it actually takes months of preparation, decorating, cleaning graves, cooking and planning. But it’s all worth it for the parades and festivities on the night of November 2nd. Ivan Roman says families bring food to grave sites and bands play music to please the spirits.

With a good understanding of the culture and tradition behind this holiday, you too can go out and celebrate! Here in Kansas City, there are many opportunities to go out and celebrate. The best one being the Dia de los Muertos Central Avenue celebration. Held on November 5th, there is food, music, ofrendas, a parade and so much more! It is a great way to get out there and experience the culture that Dia de los Muertos provides. While Halloween may be all about the scares, Dia de los Muertos is all about welcoming the spirits and having fun!