Day of The Dead: The Day We Celebrate Life

I know most of you are probably thinking “Wait. Did I read that right? “It’s the day of the dead, not someone’s birthday!”

But if you know anything about Mexican culture, you know that “Dia de Muertos” is one of our biggest and most beautiful traditions. And even though it has the word “dead” in it, on November 2nd of every year, we celebrate life.

Just in case you were wondering, no, it doesn’t have anything to do with Halloween. And if you’ve seen Disney’s movie COCO (we’re already friends if so) you may have an idea about the magic behind this holiday.

Let me explain. 

Many things make me feel extremely proud of my culture, but this is definitely in my top five. To be able to talk about something so daunting and sad as death, and to look at it from a whole different perspective is something that I grew up with and I’ve learned to admire it even more throughout the years.

This day is a way to honor and celebrate the life of someone who passed away. We celebrate their life simply by remembering. You see, remembering is a very powerful thing because it makes you feel connected to that person even though they’re not physically here. 

We don’t believe that this life on earth is the end of the book for any of us, so we remember that person in a very special way. 

We make what we call an “altar”, usually in the comfort of our own home. We set up a table with colorful “manteles” (tablecloths) and we place a picture of a loved one right on top or in the center of the table. The whole idea is to place that person’s favorite things, clothes, food, or anything else that they might’ve loved. That way, on November 2nd they come and visit us and see that a piece of them always stays here, with us. 

They “come down” during that day and enjoy a piece of their favorite cake, smell their favorite flowers, and dance to their favorite song. They get to see and feel all the things we remember them for.

It’s the most beautiful way to feel them as if they were still here. 

Because they are. 

This day reminds us that even though we don’t see them, they’re with us. And instead of mourning, we decide to honor and celebrate their life. 

That’s the beauty behind this day, this tradition. To know that what we leave behind will always stay with the people that we love. 

To know that if we keep this tradition alive, there’s always going to be life after death.

And that my friends, it’s something to celebrate.