Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is celebrated all over Mexico and some southwestern states. It is celebrated on November 1st. Dia de los Muertos is a celebration of the dead paying tribute to our ancestors and loved ones who have passed on. It is a day of remembrance and celebration of those who have touched our lives.

A traditional way to celebrate this holiday is to construct ancestor altars. Items usually included are marigold flowers or other favorite flowers, incense, pictures of the dead, items your loved ones owned, sugar skulls, and paper decorations. There is no right or wrong way to do this. You can make a grand altar, or a small altar. All of them are meaningful and beautiful.






I took these pictures last year at the L.A. Day of the Dead celebration at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I won't be able to go this year, it is this weekend and I am working every night this weekend. boo! It is a lot of fun and the altars people create are simply amazing.


I celebrate Dia de los Muertos on November 1st by taking down the Halloween decorations on my mantle over my fireplace and replacing them with LOTS of candles, Marigolds and other fall flowers, pictures of my family who have died, and other items I feel is appropriate. I also make sugar skulls, soul lights and Soul Cakes.

We then light a fire and talk about our family who have passed on, tell stories and remember them. I set out one Soul Cake for the family, one outside for the faerie folk, and we eat the rest.


Soul Cakes

Ingredients

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup caster/superfine sugar
4 cups plain flour, sifted
3 egg yolks
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon allspice
3 tablespoons currants
a little milk


Cream the butter and sugar together until pale in colour and fluffy in texture. Beat in the egg yolks. Fold in the sifted flour and spices. Then stir in the currants. Add enough milk to make a soft dough and form into little cakes. You can form a cross at the top, or any symbol you like. I like to brush a little egg yolk on the tops and then bake at 350 degrees until golden.

I like to add a bit of orange rind shavings into the mix. You could also use lemon if you want.




Soul Lights
I like to use apples which have been cored and a tea light put in the center. You can also use the 7-day novena candles decorated with calaveras or whatever images you want. I place a Soul Light on my porch to help guide the dead. I also place some on my fireplace where you can see them from a window. You can place one inside a window facing the front of your house.




Here is a picture of some sugar skulls I made last year. They are really easy to make, but a big mess! I really liked doing this with my son, he really got into decorating them. You can buy the molds all over the internet. There are also many recipes for making these, too.

Here is the best website all about sugar skulls:
Mexican Sugar Skulls



And, here is a great incense blend to use on your Dia de los Muertos celebration.

Mexican Magic Incense
By Scott Cunningham
2 parts copal
1 part frankincense
1 part rosemary


Copal is a very traditional incense burned at this time of year.



Photos by me.
Art by Jose Guadalupe Posada