History
More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death.  It was a ritual the indigenous people had been practicing at least 3,000 years.  A ritual the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate, a ritual known today as Dia de Los Muertos.

Previously it fell on the ninth month ofthe Aztec Solar Calendar, approximately the beginning of  August, and was celebrated for the entire month.  Festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl.  The goddess, known as "Lady of the Dead", was believed to have died at birth.  The Spaniards moved this holiday so it coincided with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day(Nov 1 and 2), which is when it is celebrated today.  The success of the Spaniard's spiritual conquest in Mexico was due in part to their willingness to incorporate certain pre-Hispanic rituals into Christian practice.

Today, Day ofthe Dead is celebrated in Mexico and in certain parts of the United States and Central America.  But you don't have to be Mexican or Hispanic to participate.  While death is a topic largely avoided in the USA, the remembrance of deceased ancestors and loved ones is traditional among diverse cultures around the world, often marked by lighting candles or lamps and laying out offerings of food and drink. Such celebrations can be traced back as far as the glory days of ancient Egypt when departed souls were honored during the great festival of Osiris.  

In agricultural societies there is always the idea that if you have life, you also have death. The concept of cycle or circle of life is prevalent in many native and indigenous peoples around the world.  unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continution of life.  Instead of fearing death, they embraced it.  To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake.  "The pre-Hispanic people honored duality as being dynamic," said Christina Gonzales, senior lecturer on Hispanic issues at Arizona University. "They didn't separate death from pain, wealth from poverty like they did in Western cultures". 

Renowned Mexican writer Octavio Paz observes that, undaunted by death, the Mexican has no qualms about getting up close and personal with death, noting that he "...chases after it, mocks it, courts it, hugs it, sleeps with it; it is his favorite plaything and his most lasting love."

In Mexico, angelitos or little angels/innocent ones return to the celebration beginning at midnight on October 31st.  By  midnight on Nov 1 the children have gone and the souls of departed adults begin to return to the feast at the altars with their favorite foods. 

Dia de Los Muertos is a celebration of expression in many ways.  Not only is it dedicated to remembering and honoring those that have passed before us, it is also centrally focused on the artistic expression of the living through the creation of ofrendas (altars), costumes, cooking and crafts.  It is an opportunity to participate in an ancient yet very alive tradition. 

Our Celebration

Each year here at Escuelita we build and decorate an ofrenda together.  We cut and craft paper banners, and flowers.  The traditional flower of Dia de Los Muertos is the golden bright marigold, called cempazutchil. The  pungent smell of this flower is also thought to help lead the dead to their fiesta.