Day of the Dead
11-2-22
By: Cheyenne McCallister

Day of the Dead, also known as Dia De Los Muertos, is a Mexican holiday. During November 1st and November 2nd families welcome back their deceased relatives’ souls for a small family reunion. Families offer food, drinks, sweets, and crafts but this holiday also celebrates the living and the dead. They also bring flowers to their loved ones and apparently when this tradition starts the gates of heaven are opened at midnight during October 31st. There are calaveras which are skulls usually made by hand. These are usually made out out sugar or clay and they are decorated with color. Mexican marigolds are used to guide the spirits to where they need to be at the moment. (An offernda means offering).
The offernda is the most important part of the holiday. There is a table laid out with a brightly colored oilcloth on it that has belongings from each deceased member. There are also Mexican cuisines that were the deceased favorites placed upon the offernda. Honestly this holiday is very sweet and its admirable because it’s so rare. Some mistaken it for the Mexican version of halloween because the people there dress up and do things kind of similar but not similar to our Halloween. I can assure you that it’s not their version of Halloween, Dia De Los Muertos is a holiday that is taken very seriously and it means a lot to their culture. Day of the Dead isn’t a sad holiday it’s actually very happy and during this you’ll see skulls painted with bright colors and smiles on their faces as they mock death.

https://dayofthedead.holiday/