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#Altar el dia de los muertos how to#

My mom would always make us Mexican hot chocolate-the Abuelita brand. Every Christmas I go home, and one of our traditions is to go to midnight mass.

Because Mom was from Panama, I found fruit grown there: yucca, chayotes, mangoes.

Everything I added to my mom’s altar meant something. Gathering meaningful items and remembering stories are part of what makes this so healing.

The smell of incense-usually copal-is said to draw souls to the house.

Candles, part of the Catholic tradition, represent fire.

Papel picado, decorative cut tissue paper, are hung in banners to represent wind.

Orange marigolds, cempasúchil, represent earth.

Water is also included as one of the four elements. Many include pan de muertos, a sweet bread.

A cup of water and favorite foods refresh the souls when they return.

The candy sugar skulls are decorated with frosting and sometimes personalized with names.

Calaveras are the best known Day of the Dead symbols.

Traditional Día de Muertos ofrendas include: Some altars have a lower level to represent the underworld, and others include steps to heaven. Because Mom was Catholic, mine had three, representing heaven, purgatory and earth. Traditional offerings in a Día de Muertos altarĪltars have different levels to symbolize the journey between heaven and earth. I gathered things she loved, photographs and objects with stories behind them. She invited me to add one for my mom with a photo and a candle.Īs we went through Mom’s house, I started to pull things together. One friend, for example, covers her huge dining room table with little altars for members of her family and friends. The altar can commemorate one person or many people and honor people you know or celebrities you love.

#Altar el dia de los muertos how to#

In Panama, there was a procession, and then you’d go to church.īecause it’s part of my culture, I wanted to make an altar and to learn as much as I could about how to choose ofrendas.Īltars are built in multiple levels on tables and include a mix of personal items and traditional components. Mom was Panamanian and Dad is Mexican-American, but we didn’t really do altars growing up. Learn more about Day of the DeadĬheck out our overview of Day of the Dead here. Families create altars to display ofrendas, or offerings, to welcome the spirits of loved ones into their homes.

The first day you honor children, and the second is for remembering adults who have passed. In parts of Mexico-and more and more, in the United States-people celebrate Día de Muertos, Day of the Dead, on November 1 and 2. Inspired? Create and share by tagging is a Day of the Dead altar? First, though, I needed to research how to make a Día de Muertos altar. I thought it might be too soon-I wasn’t sure if I could do it, emotionally. HEART (the Hispanic Education Awareness Resource Team at Hallmark) suggested I make one for my mother. When I came back to work at Hallmark, we were working on an activity for Hispanic heritage month: creating a display of Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) altars.