More than Sugar Skulls
Growing up in the US Halloween has always been my favorite holiday –dressing up in costumes, trick-or-treating, and getting scared beyond belief in haunted houses, and corn mazes all made it my favorite day of the year. A few years ago, I went to San Miguel de Allende. This trip opened my eyes to Dia de los Muertos; a touching and heat-filled event. Days away from this celebration inspired me to dig deeper into this holiday and its origins.
For most this holiday may include beautiful colors and sights, it’s quite sacred and holds a great deal of meaning. For most Americans, Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is the “Mexican Halloween.” While this isn’t the case, the majority of Americans who “participate” in this holiday don’t know the actual origins and meanings of this two-day event. The spiritual ritual dates back 3,000 years and has outlasted more than 500 years of colonization.
During the old days, Dia de los Muertos was practiced during the ninth month of the Aztec solar calendar, and it went on for a full month. However, in an attempt to convert the natives to Catholicism, the Spanish colonizers moved the celebration to November 1 and 2 (All Saints Day), which is when the holiday is currently celebrated. While the rituals involved in the celebrations have retained some Catholic elements, the indigenous roots of the celebration are extremely prevalent.
While most people see death as an ending, the Mexican culture views death as a continuation of life. Instead of simply mourning loved ones, they celebrate the lives that they had. On November 1 — Dia de los Inocentes is the celebration of babies and children who have passed. On November 2, the adults are celebrated.
During rituals, Mexicans go to the gravesites of loved ones and eat a meal with them, oftentimes a meal they enjoyed. Altars are built and include photos of the deceased and marigold flowers, which symbolize death. Offerings are like pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread) and water for dead loved one’s nourishment and strength on their journey. They include beautiful flowers and designs to show that death shouldn’t be feared or placed in a morbid light.
Altars also hold candles, which are used to guide souls to our altars, along with burning incense, resin, or herbs, the soles that visit the alters do not eat or drink what is on the altar, instead, they absorb the aroma and energy of the food, which nourishes the spirits.
Most Americans would call this “sugar skull makeup,” but it’s not. It’s called Catrina’s makeup. Catrina is a reference to a zinc etching from 1910 to 1913. As Latin Times writes: “She is offered as a satirical portrait of those Mexican natives who, [the artist] felt, were aspiring to adopt European aristocratic traditions in the pre-revolutionary era.”
The sugar skulls are made of candy piped with icing for decoration. During celebrations, these are eaten as a symbol of consuming death and the negative emotions that come with it — and not letting death or those emotions consume us.
This holiday means so much to the Mexican people. It brings healing and insight in the face of grief and keeps parts of the old ways alive. Dia de los Muertos and its rituals are proof and a testament to our resiliency and strength through centuries of colonialism and genocide
