Day of the Dead

Maybe it's my sliver of Aztec ancestestry, but I think Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is fascinating. This blogger http://whippedtheblog.com/2010/10/25/host-a-last-minute-day-of-the-dead-party/

suggested having a Day of the Dead themed Party. The idea is you set up a festive altar and everyone comes with pictures of friends, families, maybe even celebritites that they want to honor, you create one big altar, play festive Latin music, dance, and eat Latin food like guacamole and tamales. I'm definitely doing this someday!

When the Spanish conquered the Aztecs, it was an indigenous ritual, and typical to most conquerors they tried unsuccessfully to stop it.  Unlike the Spaniards, who viewed death as the end of life, the natives viewed it as the continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, the Aztecs embraced it. To them, life was a dream and only in death did they become truly awake. Hmmmmmmmmmmm, wouldn't that be interesting?

To make the ritual more Christian, the Spaniards moved it to coincide with All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (Nov. 1 and 2).

Different Dia de los Muertos traditions include visiting the cemetery where their loved ones are buried, decorating gravesites, bringing toys for dead children and liquor to adults. They sit on picnic blankets next to gravesites and eat the favorite food of their loved ones.  Families also build altars in their homes, dedicating them to the dead by surrounding the altars with flowers, food, pictures of the deceased, and

lit candles.

The store Nomad which is just blocks away from my home sells everything you'd need for your Day of the Dead decor.  From $2.80 Candy Skulls to $500 Haitian Voodoo Skulls.  http://www.nomadcambridge.com/dod.htm