Cassandra Barboza
November 21,2023
Day of the Day, also known as Dia de Los Muertos, is a Mexican-American holiday. On the Day of the Dead, it's said that a border between the spirit world and the real world is opened to invite spirits to feast and spend time with their loved ones. November 1st and 2nd are the days when Day of the Dead celebrations take place. Most people celebrate the holiday with big parties, visiting loved ones' gravestones to decorate them, praying and telling stories about the deceased, eating traditional foods like pan de muerto and sugar skulls, and most importantly making ofrendas. Ofrendas are altars that hold a variety of objects. Some examples include portraits of the deceased, marigold flowers for character, objects that the deceased loved one adored while they were still living, and pan de muerto. Day of the Dead is not intended to scare and frighten individuals into believing it is a bad holiday, it focuses more on spending time with your loved ones and celebrating those who passed on.
Picture of Day of the Dead in Oaxaca
Alessandra Pimental, a junior, expressed that Day of the Dead is one of her “favorite holidays” since she has been a young girl. She explained that her mother makes an ofrenda to commemorate her grandparents, great grandparents, and her grandma's granddaughter who had passed from heart failure. She helps with decorating and uses many different items like “sugar skulls, marigolds, candles, and pictures of her relatives.” This holiday brings her joy but also sadness, she described the feeling to be “mixed,” she misses her relatives but knows that they are at eternal peace now.
