Day of the Dead Explained with Beads and Charms

In Mexico and in Mexican-American communities around the country, it's the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos), a celebration that honors lost loved ones and those who have gone before.  It closelt correlates with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on the Catholic calendar.

A Day of the Dead skeleton figurine on Alexander Henry sugar skull fabric

People commemorate the lives of lost loved ones by creating ofrendas ("offerings": altars and shrines), making sugar skulls as presents for the dead...

... hanging banners made of papel picado ("pierced paper" filigree), decorating with real or paper marigolds, baking pan de muerto ("bread of the dead"), visiting family graves, and maintaining a celebratory atmosphere.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back to the Aztec festival for the goddess Mictecacihuatl. 

The holiday has spread throughout the world in Latin cultures.  Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations can also be found in many Asian and African cultures.

The Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico can be traced back to the indigenous cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors have been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years.

 In the pre-Hispanic era, it was common to keep skulls as trophies and display them during the rituals as symbols of death and rebirth.

The festival that became the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. 

The festivities were dedicated to the god known as the "Lady of the Dead", who corresponds to the modern-day Catrina. 

In most regions of Mexico, November 1 honors children and infants; deceased adults are honored on November 2. November 1 is generally referred to as Día de los Inocentes ("Day of the Innocents") or Día de los Angelitos ("Day of the Little Angels").  November 2 is known as Día de los Muertos or Día de los Difuntos ("Day of the Dead").

People go to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed.  They build altars containing the favorite foods and beverages as well as photos and memorabilia of the departed. 

The intent is to encourage the souls to visit, so that they may hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them.

During the three-day period, families usually clean and decorate graves; most visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas ("offerings"), which often include orange Mexican marigolds (Tagetes erecta) called cempasúchitl (originally named cempoalxochitl,  Nahuatl for "twenty flowers").

 In modern Mexico, this name is sometimes replaced with the term Flor de Muerto ("Flower of the Dead"). These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings.

Toys are brought for dead children (los angelitos, or "the little angels"), and bottles of tequila ,mezcal, or pulque or jars of atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave.  

An ofrenda with day of the Dead offerings

Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods such as candied pumpkin, pan de muerto ("bread of the dead"), and sugar skulls and beverages such as atole.

Atole is a hot beverage native to Mexico and Central America originating before the pre-Hispanic era. Traditionally, atole is made from nixtamalized maize dough.

The ofrendas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" of the ofrendas food, so even though the celebrators eat the food after the festivities, they believe it no longer holds any nutritional value.

 

Pillows and blankets are left out so that the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, speople spend all night beside the graves of their relatives. In many places, people have picnics at the grave site as well.

Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes;[ these usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, candles and an ofrenda. Families spend some time around the altar, praying and telling anecdotes about the deceased. In some locations, celebrants wear shells on their clothing, so that when they dance, the noise will wake up the dead;,  Some even dress up as the deceased.

Art from the Day of the Dead Folk Art Gallery

A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (called the calavera), which can be represented in masks (calcas) and foods, like sugar skulls.  Sugar skulls are gifts that can be given to both the living and the dead. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto, a sweet egg bread made in various shapes from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits, often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones.


Whether or not you celebrate, take a moment to remember someone no longer with you.  Wishing you all good memories.

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Skulls' Night Out

Six skulls were sitting around the graveyard one night, playing poker, and bemoaning the things they had neglected to do and be during their skull careers.


"I was never in a production of Hamlet," lamented one.  "I could have been a contender, instead of a dusty old poker playing skull, which is what I am."

"And I should have been a Grateful Dead skull," complained another.  "Talk about the good life...  Get yourself an old VW van, paint it with flowers, and follow the band around the country.  That's what I should have done."

"Not me," said the third.  "I should have gone in for the pirate's life.  Sure, I know all the lyrics to A Pirate's Life for Me, but, at the time,  it never occurred to me that I would eventually become a symbol for all things pirate.  I wasted the best years of my death!"

"You think you wasted your death?!" retorted the fourth.  "I should have been a biker tattoo for some guy on a big ol' Harley.  I could have hung out on his meaty forearm, defying death...even though I'm like, well... dead."

"Aw, you're all full of dust," remarked the fifth.  "If I had it to do all over again, I'd get on the Día de los Muertos bandwagon.  Be one of those skulls everyone wants  Hang out with all the other skulls.  Everyone brings your flowers and food and presents.

The sixth skull looked at the others through hollow eyes, and then weighed in. "The ultimate," the sixth skull stated, "would be to be the symbol on a poison bottle.  Think about it.  Universally understood, striking fear into the hearts of men everywhere.  A cameo part in It's a Wonderful Life.  Death doesn't get any better than that, my friends."

The skulls sighed, as one, each sure of wasting early years of skullishness.  The first skull absent-minded set down the poker cards and rubbed a nearby tombstone.  Suddenly, in a  flash of light, the Fair Godmother of Skulls appeared.  "I am your Fairy Godmother," she said, "And I am here to grant you one wish."

The skulls started to clamor:

"Keep on truckin'"

"Feliz Dia de los Muertos!"

" Feels like I'm knockin' on heaven's door!"

"Live to ride; ride to live!"

"We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot.  Drink up me 'earties, yo ho!"

"Alas, poor Yorick!"

"Do not induce vomiting!"

"Hold it right there," said the Fairy Godmother.  I didn't mean you each get a wish.  You get one wish for all of you."

The skulls started to confer, then argue, then argue heatedly.  It was only a matter of time before they began to bang heads.  The Fairy Godmother, having seen this behavior before, stepped between them, stopping them instantly.

"Surely there's something all of you wanted to do once upon a time."

They stopped, silenced by her words.  They thought and thought and thought.  But they'd been sitting around the graveyard so long, playing poker and acting tough, that they could no longer remember what they'd missed.  And so their Fairy Godmother decided for them.

"Sure, you could have been tattoos, or symbols... or even pieces of a shrine.  But, really, all that is highly overrated.  When's the last time you had a night out?"

The skulls looked puzzled.

"You know," she said. "Dressing up?  A nice dinner, a show, cocktails, dancing?  What do you say?"

It sounded like the most fun any of the skulls had ever had.  "Then that shall be your wish!" said the Fairy Godmother.  "Go polish your parietal plates and get out your BrightandShinyThings.  You're going out for a night on the town."

And so they found their pearls and their crystals and they sparkled and they glittered.  The skulls got all dolled up and, for one perfect night, they partied like skulls they'd only watched in old films.

And every night after that, when they played Texas Hold 'Em, they remembered that lovely night.  And then they went back to arguing about poison and Harleys and head banging.

And they all died happily ever after.

Day of the Dead on etsy

Day of the Dead on eBay

Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a perfect example of how cultures change, yet survive.  Beliefs of the Mexican people go back to early Aztec and Mayan roots, with a blend of Spanish conquerors and Catholicism.

Back in the 8th century, the church decreed that November 1st would be celebrated as All Saints Day ~ a day set aside to honor martyrs and saints.  This, of course, was an attempt to gloss over another culture, since, for 2000 years, Celts and Druid priests combined harvest festivals and celebrated the new year on November 1st.

The Celtic dead, you see, were believed to have access to earth on Samhain, which fell on October 31st.  At that time, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead was lessened. To celebrate, Celts danced around huge bonfires while wearing heads and hides.

This was done to confuse the spirits.  Offerings of burned crops and animals were given to the dead who returned at that time.

Clearly this is something the church wanted to cover up.  So at the end of the first millennium, they designated November 2nd as All Souls' Day as a time to honor the dead.  To keep up with the Druid and Celtic pagenatry, All Souls' Day was celebrated with... (ready??)  huge bonfires...

...and people dressed up, though not in animal heads and hides.  Rather, they dressed as saints, angels, and devils.

Back then, All Saints Day and All Souls' Day were known as All-hallowsmas, which made October 31st "All Hallowed's Eve" or Hallow'e'en.

Getting back to Mexico... when the Spaniards arrived they met up with two-month celebrations honoring the harvest, the dead, and the new year.  This was a long-standing tradition.  For more than 500 years, the goddess Mictecacihuatl, who is the Lady of the Dead, presided over Aztec harvest rituals.  Guess what they used?  Yep.  Fire (and incense)...

...and costumes of animal skins.  To this was added images of their dead and offerings of ceramics, personal goods, flowers and foods, drink and flowers.

So the church stepped in and attempted to transform this joyous (and long) celebration into a serious (and short) day of prayer focusing on tragic images of death and reflection on saints and martyrs.  This did not meet with universal acceptance.

Instead, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day evolved into Dia de los Muertos ~ a celebration to honor the dead with color, flowers, candles, and joy.

The flowers are, as you see, marigolds.

Marigolds are traditionally used to decorate altars for Dia de los Muertos.

Called Cempazuchil, or Flower of the Dead, Marigolds go back to the Aztecs.  In the Aztec language, marigold is Xempa (which means dead) + Xochitl, meaning flower.   This was changed for easier pronunciation in the Castillian Spanish, becoming Cempazuchil. Marigolds represent the sun's rays.  Since the sun is the origin of all living things, marigolds are the symbol that the deceased have not lost their place in the universe.

And that is why this bracelet is in bright floral colors.

And that is why Day of the Dead is still celebrated.




Some day all these might be superseded by a different holiday, but I'm betting it will involve bonfires and dressing up, and a lot of good food.

And you could still wear the bracelet.

Day of the Dead BrightandShinyThings on etsy.