The Day Of The Dead
By Mildred Boyd.
October 2006 Guadalajara-Lakeside Volume 23, Number 2

     Ghoulies and ghosties and four footed beasties and things that go bump in the night might scare Mexican children, but a rattling skeleton or a chattering skull would probably only make them laugh. All their lives, especially in the weeks leading up to November 2nd, they have played with toys and eaten sugary treats made in the form of skeletons, skulls, coffins, funeral processions and tombstones in celebration of The Day of the Dead.
     This cavalier attitude toward what most people consider macabre in the extreme is puzzling to most visitors, yet the reason is quite simple. Pre-Columbian religions taught that life on earth was merely one leg of the journey to the eternal delights that await us all and death was nothing to be feared.
     Ancestors who had passed death’s door still influenced the living. They could, if neglected, send punishing diseases or, if mollified with offering of food, flowers and blood, intercede with the gods. During each calendar cycle the 20-day month of Tlaxoch-maco was devoted to ceremonies honoring dead children and the following vientana, Xocotlhuetzi, did the same for adults. Though the period of expected visits has been reduced to four, or in our area, two days—October 30th and 31st or only All Hallows’ Day for the children (los Angelitos) and the first two days of November or only All Saints’ Day for the adults—many aspects of those ancient rites survive in today’s celebrations.
     The advent of Christianity in the 16th century merely reinforced belief in an afterlife and, while most Christians have doubts, these people truly believed and death held no fears.
     Admittedly, that simple faith has been eroding so that urban festivities have become merely an excuse for feasting, fun and games. Still, in the rural areas of Mexico the ancient beliefs are still strong. Whatever the location, certain elements of the celebration remain constant.

The Altar

     An altar featuring photographs and treasured possessions of the family dead can be found in almost every home in Mexico. Some are simple; others ostentatiously lavish, but all contain symbols of the four elemental forces; earth, wind, fire and water. Earth is represented by the fruit, vegetables and flowers it produces. The dead are assumed to extract nourishment from the mere aroma. Banners of intricately cut paper, papel picado, or simple strips of tissue paper, hung so they move with the slightest breeze, symbolize air. Fire is present in ever-burning candles, one for each departed family member and one more just in case.
     A container of drinking water is always present to slake the thirst of the visiting spirits as well as a basin of water, along with soap and towels, a mirror and a comb, to allow them to refresh themselves after their long journey. Salt is provided to purify and season the food and copal incense burns to purify the air and call the dead home as it has done for millennia.
     Gifts for the guest spirit might include toys and candy for the children and cigars, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages for the adults.

The Vigil

     When one has been honored by a visit from the beyond it is only polite to return the call. When darkness falls on November 1st, every cemetery in Mexico becomes a fairyland glittering with thousands of candles as families gather for a happy reunion at the gravesides of their dear departed where they have already spent many hours cleaning, painting and decorating the tombs. They bring offerings of elaborate flower arrangements and set up miniature altars on the grave.
     Again, the departed child will receive more gifts of toys and candies. A festive meal, which includes little Juanita’s or Tia Dolores’ or Tio Julio’s preferred foods, is shared by all, while strolling musicians play and sing their favorite songs. The entire night is spent in cozy companionship communing with the dead.

The Food

     All the favorite dishes of the honored spirit are provided, as well as regional specialties like tamales or turkey mole that usually appear only for festive occasions. There is always a spicy meat dish and cookies, pumpkin candy and an array of sugary confections shaped like animals, coffins, tombstones and other trappings of death. Beverages will include chocolate, hot fruit punch and alcoholic drinks in many forms, always including the deceased’s favorite tipple.
     All these may differ, but one food is always present. Pan de Muerto, or Bread of the Dead, is a special, sweetened egg-batter loaf that is baked only for this occasion. Shapes and decorations vary according to regional tastes but there is always a funereal theme. A round loaf may be topped with rods and knobs of dough in the form of crossed bones or a coffin-shaped loaf may have a wreath of flowers.
     In Oaxaca loaves in the shape of a shrouded body have a face imbed-ded in one end to represent the deceased. In Puebla a tiny plastic skeleton is hidden in each loaf to bring good luck the one who finds it in his portion.

The Flowers

     Cempoalxochitl, or marigolds, were offered by the ancients to honor their dead, and the custom still prevails. Marigolds grow wild in many areas but farmers cultivate great fields of them to meet the demand and their rich orange is dominant on every Day of the Dead altar and in cemeteries during the celebration. In Oaxaca, tiny flowers bloom at just the right time, staining the valleys a brilliant yellow. They are called the Flowers of the Dead and great sheaves are gathered to decorate altars and tombs. Other wild blooms and cultivated flowers like chrysanthemums are used, usually in bright yellows or oranges. In some places, however, the plushy red of the coxcomb is dominant.
     Whatever the bloom, women spend days in arranging them on altars, decorating graves, constructing welcoming arches and sometimes strewing petals from the cemetery to their front door to guide the returning spirit home.

Skulls and Skeletons

     For weeks before the great event, markets overflow with sweets and toys to help celebrate the many aspects of death, burial and afterlife. They come in many shapes, but the most popular are skulls and skeletons, which may be carved from wood, cut from paper, molded from clay or papier mache or baked from sweetened dough. Children delight in seeing their own names inscribed on flower-bedecked skulls made of alfenique, an almond-flavored sugar paste, or in making the articulated bones of a cardboard skeleton perform a danse macabre or in setting up an entire funeral service complete with skeletal corpse, mourners and priests.