As the Halloween excitement lingers, a Mexican tradition lies on the same weekend: Dia de los Muertos! A tradition dating about 3000 years ago honors the return of the dead with remembrance and offerings. Predominantly celebrated in Mexico, Dia de los Muertos has been brought to the United States by many Mexican Americans. In cities across the U.S., many communities gather together to celebrate this honorable tradition. Whether you\u2019re looking for inspiration or just browsing out of curiosity, read more below to unpack fun facts and a useful guide on celebrating Dia de los Muertos!<\/p>\n
On Oct. 31 at midnight, the border between the spirit and physical world opens. During this time, the spirits travel to their loved ones to celebrate with food, flowers and dancing. The living will treat the returning spirits with their favorite foods on an ofrenda.<\/p>\n
The history of Dia de los Muertos<\/p>\n
Dia de los Muertos dates back to precolonial Mexican customs. The holiday is primarily rooted in Indigenous beliefs of cultural groups such as the Aztecs and Nahua. Many Indigenous peoples believe death represents a transformation for a new beginning \u2014 not necessarily just the end of life.<\/p>\n
When a person passes away, they travel through the underworld realm, Mictl\u00e1n. There, they take a journey to complete nine levels over the span of four years in order to reach a final resting place. To complete these challenges, the dead require a lot of energy and perseverance to successfully pass through each level. Once accomplished, the spirit of the dead would be guided to its final resting place, determined by the individual\u2019s cause of death.<\/p>\n
The Dia de los Muertos we know and practice today was influenced by a combination of Indigenous beliefs and Spanish Catholicism. During the Spanish colonial period, many of the traditional beliefs merged into what we know today. While the interpretation of Dia de los Muertos varies from culture to culture, the holiday remains very significant and important to many Latin American cultures today.<\/p>\n
How to build an ofrenda<\/p>\n
As Dia de los Muertos is about honoring the return of lost loved ones, there are various ways to celebrate. Many people show their remembrance in ways such as visiting old burial sites, making an ofrenda or even hosting a lighthearted dinner in honor of their loved ones. All of these celebratory acts are common during this time of year and highly encouraged to participate in!<\/p>\n
One of the most important ways of celebrating Dia de los Muertos is building an ofrenda. An ofrenda is set up with the following: candles, marigolds, water, food and items personalized to a spirit so that they feel welcomed. The personalized aspect can range from things such as a favorite book to a memorable photo.<\/p>\n
The first step to building an ofrenda is making room on a desk or table with plenty of space to decorate. Next, you\u2019ll need candles, marigold flowers and a small portion of water and food nearby. The most important thing is to enjoy the process of setting it up. You can set one up with friends, family or alone! With careful placements of each element and by adding your own touch with the personalized items, your ofrenda should be in top shape for Dia de los Muertos!<\/p>\n
Events to check out<\/p>\n
On Nov. 1, the Dia de los Muertos Festival will take place at\u00a0Fruitvale Transit Village in Oakland. La Catrina will be standing tall as the centerpiece for the festival. La Catrina is a handcrafted 34-foot skeleton from Tutepec, Mexico, and will be excitedly welcomed as she completes her long journey from Mexico to Oakland. Her journey from Mexico to Oakland is a metaphor for crossing borders and taking great pride in Mexican culture. She is a significant symbol for Dia de los Muertos as she holds great meaning and offers hope for future generations to come.<\/p>\n
On Nov. 2, the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Union is hosting an activity to celebrate Dia de los Muertos. Check it out to enjoy free arts and crafts, goodies and delicious Mexican pastries.<\/p>\n
Even if you aren\u2019t Latine, you can still celebrate your loved ones on Dia de los Muertos. As such a meaningful tradition, the holiday has no restrictions or limitations to those who celebrate it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the Halloween excitement lingers, a Mexican tradition lies on the same weekend: Dia de los Muertos! A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508617,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[114752,8065,9038,196111,2337,185634,2457,196217,143,145,144,8564,196218],"class_list":["post-508616","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-aztec","tag-day-of-the-dead","tag-dia-de-los-muertos","tag-fruitvale-transit-village","tag-indigenous","tag-la-catrina","tag-mexico","tag-nahua","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news","tag-tradition","tag-tutepec"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=508616"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/508616\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/508617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=508616"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=508616"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=508616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}