Today is the Mexican Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead! Since I am of Mexican descent, the Day of the Dead is something that I grew up with. I remember all of the vivid colors of the skeleton cookies, and the deliciously-sugary psychedelic skulls, and even though I didn't understand it too well as a young boy, what I loved the most about the day of the dead was helping my grandmother with the family altar-- an elaborate multi-tiered monstrosity-- which was meant to celebrate and honor the life of our deceased family members.
Of course, building an altar in honor of your deceased family members is not intrinsic to only Mexico, many different cultures practice this tradition-- so why not build an altar in honor of your ancestors today? It's easy, should take you around an hour, and you can customize it based on what you have on hand.
Here is a suggested list of what traditional Mexican Day of the Dead Altars contain:
- Table with colorful tablecloth
- A backdrop (usually an arch representing the transition to the afterlife, but you can improvise with a beautiful drape)
- Photos of your ancestors
- Candles
- Incense
- Food (Fruit and traditional Mexican pastries are the most popular)
- Flowers (I prefer fresh, but many use plastic)
- Sugary Skulls (difficult to find outside of diverse cities, but here is a link to make your own!)
Have fun with this project; perhaps this will inspire you to start a tradition with your own family.
Photos:
1. Rosemary on the TV
2. Peregrine Blue on Flickr
3. Laurie Zuckerman
4. Mexican Wave on Flickr
5. OaklandNorth
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Chilanga as I am, I love to see Day of the Death articles and pictures rather than all that cinco de mayo non sense. Thanks for sharing. Now I wish I had set up our altar. been too busy. Last year's was great, I even learned to make Pan de Muerto and now I share my own recipe with friends and family. Great traditions.
I love your other posts, Jose.
I'm not Mexican but I'm Latina and my mom always had an altar in her bedroom. Every morning and evening she'd pray for relatives who were gone. She's eighty something now and although I've never had an altar, surprisingly my daughter does. I find it peaceful and mystical and might just do my own. Thank you for sharing this lovely tradition Jose.
I put mi altar in my Mexico City Apartment! :D first time i do it :D
definitely a great post.. makes me think of my mother who always set pan de dulce out on the altar with candles and photos. Viva mexico