Thalia talks Dia de Muertos

Hey everyone! It's Thalia again. It's been so long that I thought I should write another post!

So today's topic is Día de Muertos. It is pretty much the same as Day of the Dead. If you don't know what either of those things are, here's a brief explanation; Día de Muertos is a holiday to celebrate all our loved ones who have passed away. It is a traditional belief that on the first and second of November and around that time (it's NOT one of those holidays that last one day) the people who have died come back to visit at that time. If you have seen the movie coco, it describes a little bit more.


OFRENDAS:
An ofrenda is  the Spanish word for altar.
Ofrendas are a ginourmus part of Día de Muertos. It's pretty much a place where you put up all the pictures of your loved ones. Going along with what I said earlier, you also put out the foods that they liked, things that they made, ect. For example, one of my grandfathers really liked Hershey almond chocolate bars. So that goes on the altar. My other grandfather really loved black licorice and jelly beans. That goes on too. You get the idea...

a sugar skull that is painted wood instead of sugar

actual sugar skull made out of sugar

SUGAR SKULLS: Sugar skulls are also put on ofrendas. (and no, they are not meant for eating) They are a really unique part of Day of the Dead.

Cempasúchil flowers lining the Calzada de Muertos (aka Calle Garcia Vigil)

Cempasúchil on our ofrenda

CEMPASÚCHIL: Cempasúchil is the nahuatl word for marigolds. They are also a really big part of Day of the Dead. They are meant to guide the spirits. They are also put on ofrendas and in the streets.









MY ALTARS THIS YEAR: This year my family and I set up two ofrendas. One for family and family of friends, and one ofrenda for all the people

our ofrenda for Auntie Re (Aretha Franklin), Frida Kahlo, heroes de Mexico, our ofrendas don't have food yet because the cat will eat it! So we save it for Nov 1, 2

our ofrenda for loved ones, including Moose, Lucy, Raz, Grandpere, Papa, Uncle Beau, Estelle, and Lila

that we never really knew but still deserve to be on the ofrenda, such as Benito Juárez, Frida Khalo, and lots of heroes of Méxican independence, revolution, and more.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN MINI OFRENDA:
This year, since we didn't have all our decorations for our  ofrenda, my mom and I made some by hands. Here are some simple crafts you can make if you would like to make a little small ofrenda of your own.
SET UP:
To set up your mini altar, you will obviously need some space.
1- Cover your ofrenda space with some tissue paper or colorful fabric.
2- If you want to layer or tiers, cover some shoeboxes or other boxes with your fabric or paper.
FOR THE PICTURES:
1- Print and cut out some photos of some of the people that you love that have passed away.
2- Cut out some cardboard and glue on the photos.
3-Only if you want, you can decorate the photos with markers, glitter, decorative tape or stickers. And if you want, you can make your cardboard a little bigger than the photo to have more room to decorate.
TO FINISH YOUR MINI OFRENDA:
Find some things that your people on your ofrenda liked, such as food.

PRONOUNCIATION GUIDE:
OFRENDA- ( oh- friend- uh)
DÍA DE MUERTOS- ( dee-uh  de  mu- wear- toes)
CEMPASUCHIL- (sem - pa - soo- cheel)

Pictures of other ofrendas:

the ofrenda at my school, Instituto San Felipe