In preparing to write about Day of the Dead, I emailed my friend Megan who met her husband in Mexico and lived there with him for several years before the two of them came to the States together. Below is her description of her fond memories of the holiday:
Hi Brooke,
It's funny that you should ask about Day of the Dead, because Esteban and I are taking our annual trip to Mexico during that time. It is my favorite time of year, not only because of the cool weather (fall is my favorite season anyway), but also because of the memories I have of this holiday.
The signs of Day of the Dead (at least where we lived) are subtle. Unlike holidays in the U.S., there are no full page ads in the Sunday paper selling products, no parades or TV advertisements.
What you do begin to notice while you are doing your weekly errands is the appearance of the vital elements of any altar. During your trip to the bakery, for example, you will start seeing pan de muerto—a special kind of bread often in the shape of a bone or a skull—and the ubiquitous sugar skulls; at the market, the traditional flowers such as marigold begin to appear around mid to late October. Traditional decorations appear here and there, but again they are subtle.
During one of the years that I taught elementary school in Mexico, I was fortunate enough to be put in charge of making the school altar for Day of the Dead (you can imagine that I was absolutely thrilled). Around the middle of October, the school sent all the children home with a note asking that they bring a photograph of a deceased relative.
When it came time to build the altar, we chose the usual place: in the main entrance of the school. We started with a table covered by a tablecloth and added several “steps,” or levels, using cardboard boxes, and then covered these boxes with tissue paper. We placed marigolds around the edges of the boxes and added “papel picado” to symbolize the element of wind. A cross was placed at the top, along with small bowls of water (for thirsty souls) and salt, which represents purification.
Finally, the children and teachers put photos of their loved ones on the altar, along with candles (to represent fire), copal incense (to help the souls “find” the altar), and food, such as tamales, hot chocolate, traditional fruits (representing the earth element), and pan de muerto. On a home altar, you can tailor it even more to your family by putting some of their favorite items and foods. There are endless variations from region to region, but these are some of the basic elements.
Now, the food. No Mexican celebration could be a celebration without food. Much like Thanksgiving for us, Day of the Dead is a time that many Mexican people associate with food—especially tamales, hot chocolate, bread. This food is made to go on the altar or at the gravesite for the deceased to enjoy, but this doesn’t keep the living from eating some too! A big part of the celebration lies in sharing a meal with your loved ones, both living and dead.
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