They’re everywhere on Halloween night- faces painted like skulls. What are those kids trying to be? The answer lies in four short words: Day of the Dead.
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that combines ancient Aztec customs with All Souls’ Day, a holiday Spanish colonizers brought into Mexico in the early 1500s.
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated throughout Mexico on Nov. 1-2. It is seen as a sort of family reunion, only, in this case, the dead are the guests of honor.
The first step is setting up a candlelit altar in their homes, so that spirits may find their way back to their loved ones. The altar is an offering of some of the favorite foods of the deceased, just in case they find themselves hungry after their journey. Items that were held near and dear to the deceased when they were alive, things like a book or a photograph, are also placed on the altar.
Once the altar is complete, the family will take off to the graveyard for a party. Families will cook grand feasts that will be eaten while tombstones are cleaned, song sung, and whispers fill the night as conversations take place with ancestors. On some occasions, parents might even bring their baby, to introduce them to a grandparent who passed before a hello could be said.
As for the skulls, those are simply a reminder that death is a part of life. By hanging around skeletons, is another reminder that you will one day be a skeleton as well.
Come out Nov. 3 to Musa studio, located in Bryan, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., for a chance to celebrate the dead. A celebration will be in full swing with door prizes, sugar skulls to decorate, face painting, and more.
Take part in honoring your loved ones who have passed. Celebrate their time here on earth and take some photos with your friends/family at the photobooth. Celebrate life. Enjoy it. Remember those who are gone, and party. Day of the Dead style.
