Pan de Muerto - Represents the generosity of the host or the gift of the land itself. Here are a few elements you can't miss on your altar de Muertos:□□️✨ The largest consists of seven levels and represents the steps to eternal rest. In the case of three, purgatory is added. The offerings are placed on a table with two levels that symbolize heaven and earth. In this way, the living and the dead can coexist in a dimension. The souls are believed to return to enjoy the dishes, to taste the fruit, and to contemplate the cempasúchil flower as part of this ceremony. The Day of the Dead altar is composed of several basic elements whose value has made them an integral part of the celebration. Get to know the anatomy of the exuberant offerings we make in memory of them. In this way, death is given a certain flavor of hope, since for them it's worthwhile to return to the world of the living at least once a year. The altar is the center of this celebration, and its elements are a mixture of pre-Hispanic and Catholic traditions that merge to celebrate death. Generally, the altars are two, three, or even seven levels high! In all cases, the lower levels represent the earth/underworld, and the upper levels represent the heavenly dimensions. There are many symbolic elements and meanings to building an altar for your deceased loved ones. The colorful designs represent the vitality of life and individual personality.In Mexico, families await their deceased in November to welcome them with food and drinks they enjoyed in the past. Sugar skulls: Elaborately decorated skulls are crafted from pure sugar and given to friends as gifts. Of course, many people who celebrate this holiday will pick and choose from among these symbolic items: "This day is a joyous occasion it's a time to gather with everyone in your family, those alive and those dead," he says.ĭuring the Spanish conquest, Catholic leaders exerted their influence on the tradition, and the resulting mash-up created the Day of the Dead celebration as we now know it.Įverything on an altar has special meaning, and if you want to try this at home, we've decoded the elaborate altar created for the Smithsonian. Hayes Lavis, cultural arts curator for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, says that mourning was not allowed because it was believed the tears would make the spirit's path treacherous and slippery. That's where the food, drink and music offerings come in. Instead, the Aztecs celebrated their lives and welcomed the return of their spirits to the land of the living once a year. The Aztecs developed the ritual some 3,000 years ago because they believed one should not grieve the loss of a beloved ancestor who passed. It is also practice to visit the ancestral burial ground to celebrate with picnics and music. And read our story below to learn more about the food and drink of the Day of the Dead.Īltar: Altars are used to welcome the ancestors' spirits into the home. Watch our NPR Live video above to see Jinich's full cooking technique, part of our live cooking show, Passport Kitchen. To help us celebrate, we asked Mexican chef Pati Jinich to show us how to cook her favorite kind: chicken tamales in green salsa. There are hundreds and hundreds of types of tamales, which can come with sweet or savory fillings such as beef, pork, chicken or cheese. And food and drink are a big part of the festivities - they are ofrendas, or offerings, put on altars to entice deceased loved ones to come back for a visit.Īmong the most popular food offerings are tamales - delicious little packages of masa, or dough made from corn flour, wrapped in aromatic leaves, usually corn husks or banana leaves, and steam cooked. In Mexico, celebrations for el Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, are already in full swing.
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