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."

We always make a big batch of Pan de Muertos, or bread of the dead and a big batch of cho-co-la-te (hot chocolate) will be brewing.  We light candles, we sing songs.  Traditional Mexican food is served and we decorate sugar skulls with each of our names written on them. 

This omnipresent skull or calaca is an ancient symbol of death and rebirth.  Unlike Halloween's skeletons, these prototypical, dancing skeletons are not macabre or scary, but rather they are whimsical and mocking.   Jose Guadalupe Posada is the artist responsible for popularizing the dancing skeletons you see here and numerous other  images.  He died in 1913, but his images are an integral part of the celebration still today.  Skeletal figures were always a part of the Day of the Dead but Posada made them come alive in humorous and often political way that has endured the test of time.  His Catrina figure, an upper-class lady of the late 19th century whose face and plumed hat you see so often around this time of year, never seems to go out of style. 

We really encourage all the parents and families to help us decorate our altar by bringing in photos of a deceased loved one, perhaps objects that remind you of them or maybe a favorite drink or food.