November 2nd of every yeat in the Latinx culture we celebrate and remember our loved ones that have passed. The day is known as, "The Day of the dead".
*THIS HOLIDAY IS NOT TO BE CONFUSED OR COMPARED TO HALLOWEEN*
It wasn't until my family lost two very dear family members that we started to embrace this part of our culture. We always remembered our loved ones, but my grandpa; my father's dad, and my grandma; my mother's mom, passing really caused us to celebrate this day.
Dia de Los Muertos is a beautiful holiday filled with color, music, prayer, and family. This holiday is not to be sad but to celebrate life and welcome death as a part of life.
El Altar
Here is an example of an altar. As you can see there is many colors and candles. The candles and Marigolds a flower common for this holiday. In the alter, there should be a picture of all loved ones since this is for them. The alter is usually filled with their favorite foods as apart of sharing a meal with them as if they were still alive.
Skulls are also placed at the altar.
Marigolds
Marigolds are used to guide the spirits of the dead home. Their vibrant color allows this to happen along with the candles that are at the alter. This flower also represents life. "It’s believed that Dia de los Muertos stems from an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl whose role was to guard the bones of the dead."
Calaveras "skull"
The skull is representation across many countries of death; however, these are bright and filled with color. Calaveras are also taken to graveyards to brighten up tombs. It is important that these skulls are colorful to show how much love and how we still love those we loved that have passed on. Some are even made out of sugar and others have names of those loved ones on them.
The Makeup
Many people participate in this Holiday by doing sugar skull makeup. This year I decided to do makeup just for fun. The makeup can be of any color you want and there are many tutorials on YouTube that show people can do this. On the right is me with the makeup I did this year and below is another example with more of a costume.
If you want to know more about this holiday I highly, highly, recommend watching Coco! This animated movie is a good visual representation of this beautiful holiday and the importance of remembering those who have passed.
Links: