TODAY IS HALLOWEEN!!!
One of my favorite holidays.
I have adopted this Holiday
because its fun and I adore costumes.
BUT I´M MEXICAN AND AS MUCH AS I LOVE TO ADOPT CUSTOMS
FROM OTHER COUNTRIES;
I EMBRACE MY CULTURE, AND AT HOME WE ALSO
CELEBRATE THE DAY OF THE DEAD.
Halloween and Day of the Dead have somethings in common:
celebrating souls that are not living with us anymore.
In Halloween people dress up as ghouls, ghosts,
mummies and skeletons,
so spirits can confuse them and will not do them
any harm on the 31st.
And November 1st and 2nd Day of the Dead
we celebrate the Dead by
visiting their graves with their favorite food,
or making altars with
drinks, food, some of their favorite
things that our beloved ones
enjoyed while they where alive.
We decorate with candles, photos and flowers.
The Day of the Dead is also celebrated in some
Latin American countries.
For example, it is a public holiday in Brazil,
when people visit churches
and cemeteries. This holiday is also observed in the
Philippines. In the United States,
The Day of the Dead is also observed as a holiday among
Mexican-American communities. So, while majority of
America celebrates Halloween on October 31st night,
the Hispanic population considers The Day of the Dead as a special
event honoring the dead. In Mexico it is a
traditional holiday.
El día de Muertos is not a sad time, but instead a time of
remembering and rejoicing.
Families prepare an altar
decorated with flowers, bread, fruits and candy.
Pictures of deceased family members are kept on that altar.
In late afternoon, candles are lit, as to remember the departed souls.
Just as in the United States, there are Halloween special recipes and treats,
Day of the Dead is also celebrated with unique and weird recipes like
chocolate skulls, marzipan coffins, white chocolate skeletons,
milk chocolate bones.
There are skeleton figurines, skeletal brides, evil dolls,
spirit and ghost figures, are quite popular
gift and home décor items.
November 1st and 2nd can be a wonderful
time to visit Mexico,
as you will get to see a celebration full of flowers
and chocolates.
People parade through the streets dressed as
skeletons and
ghosts and candles are meant to burn all night.
We have culture which believes in a vibrant afterlife
and remembers the departed ones with joy!
