Día de los Muertos

This young lady greeted me in the dermatologist's office this morning as I showed up to submit to another donation of flesh. Charming as she looked, I was glad to see that Heather, the physicians assistant appeared in a white coat and not a vampire costume.

The Day of the Dead is actually tomorrow but around here it is inextricably mixed with Halloween here when 
sugar skulls mix with pumpkins. I was struck by the similarities with blipper Freespiral's description of the Celtic winter festival Oiche Shamhain. 

The indigenous people combined the holidays of All Saints' Day, All Souls' Day and Halloween with their own beliefs to honor and remember their deceased loved ones. They believe that the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on Oct 31, and the spirits of all deceased children (angelitos) can reunite with their families for 24hours.

 On Nov. 2, the spirits of the adults come down to enjoy the festivities and foods that are prepared for them after their arduous journey. Many families prepare an altar with colorful scented flowers to guide the loved one back, fruit, tortillas, peanuts, sodas, candies and often the favorite meal of the deceased. 

It is a joyous holiday of remembrance and reunion and the featured skeletons and skulls are playful rather than ghoulish or gross. I love the altars and have been known to make more restrained versions of my own to honor people I have lost.

I put a picture in extras of Dana with two of her teaching colleagues. She sent me a picture first thing this morning before she left for school  but said she hadn't added tendrils to her headband 'because her pipe cleaners were at school'. Gotta love the teachers!

My own Halloween costume consists of a leg wrapped up like a mummy....