After a spooky Halloween comes a sacred holiday. Here at CSArts, Dia de los Muertos was celebrated by LUCHA, the Latinx Unidxs con Honor y Amistad Club. The club put up an ofrenda, an altar, in the cafeteria, as well as an árbol de vida (tree of life) outside. Students brought pictures of their loved ones, pets, flowers, and more to help decorate the ofrenda, and wrote the names of their loved ones on the árbol de vida.
Dia de los Muertos, also known as the Day of the Dead, is a Latin holiday celebrated during the first two days of November. People gather together in homes, churches, and cemeteries to honor their deceased loved ones, bringing the dead’s favorite foods, drinks, and other mementos to celebrate.
Originating as an Aztec holiday, Dia de los Muertos used to be a celebration of Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl. The celebration would last an entire month, where it embraced the inevitability of death rather than fearing it.
At present day, Dia de los Muertos is celebrated by many Latin cultures, and food is at the heart of the celebrations. Some decorations commonly featured treats in these ofrendas, are sugar skulls, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), fruit, and drinks. Yellow flowers are also everywhere. Typically, the flowers are yellow marigolds also known as “the flower of the dead.” They are used to communicate with the souls and illuminate their path in finding their way home through the petals.
Despite loss, ultimately Dia de los Muertos is a timeless celebration of the lives and memories of loved ones.
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