Dia de los Muertos

[ysabetwordsmith]

This year our coven is celebrating Samhain as Dia de los Muertos. It's a Mexican holiday that spreads over several days, culminating on November 2. It takes a festive approach to death. People dress up in costumes, eat candies shaped like skulls, and go picnicking in cemetaries to visit their deceased relatives. I turned up some good sites while doing research, and thought you-all might enjoy exploring them too.

General information on Dia de los Muertos:
http://www.diadelosmuertos.us/
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead

History:
http://dia-de-los-muertos.123holiday.net/
http://www.olvera-street.com/html/dia_de_los_muertos.html

Photos:
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/sdwells/oaxdd/sdwoaxacadaydead.html
http://www.diademuertos.net/

Traditions old and new:
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/jking/jkdayofthedead.html

Altar decoration:
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/travel/cgonzalez/cgalteros.html

Pan de Muertos recipes:
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/egg/egg1096/panmuert.html
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-food_bread.html
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pan-de-Muertos-Mexican-Bread-of-the-Dead/Detail.aspx

Comments

[je-reviens.livejournal.com]

There was so much coooool stuff to buy on that theme in San Antonio, esp at the Alamo gift shop.

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

We plan to visit one or more Mexican grocery stores to shop for supplies. Another friend has already bought a pinata shaped like a skull!

[je-reviens.livejournal.com]

There's so much Mexican culture here in Chicago that San Antonio hardly seemed exotic at all.

[je-reviens.livejournal.com]

You can also do some fun crafty swaps on that topic:

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/16799

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/22981

http://www.swap-bot.com/swap/show/19509

[the-7th-guest.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you guys are going to have fun ;) I am not sure what ritual my coven is doing yet, but it is probably more traditional, as the ritual writer has asked each of us to think of something that we would like to be rid of and write that on a piece of paper to burn in the fire ;) You'll have to post on how it goes ;)

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

It's looking good so far. Last night I got the day's schedule typed up, along with an incomplete draft of the ritual based on what we've discussed so far.

Our coven likes to draw inspiration from many different traditions. At our esbat meeting this week, we sketched out ideas for the 2009 sabbats. Each one focuses on a different culture; frex, we're doing Hindu for Imbolc, Japanese for Ostara, and so forth.

[rippatton.livejournal.com]

I love picnicing in cemetaries. I did that a lot in my college days. My favorite place in college town was the cemetary on a hill facing west for the sunsets (appropriate). There was a great stone sarcofogus that made a wonderful table. I once did a double date there with my roomie, wine, cheese, grapes.

And just on a side note, small town cemetaries at night are great places for "outdoor romance". You aren't likely to be disturbed and neither are the residents.

I love cemetaries. And I mean no disrespect to the dead. May they rest in peace.

Ripley

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

The main obstacle is that American cemetaries tend to close at dusk, and people throw a fit if you want to be there after dark. They also tend to throw a fit if you do things during daylight that are out of the ordinary, like picnics.

Re: Hmm...

[rippatton.livejournal.com]

Actually,
I went to college in a small town in Illinois (Greenville). They didn't close or gate the cemetary but it was a very small town. They don't close or gate the small town cemetaries here in NZ either.

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Ah, that was lucky for you. I'm in central Illinois, and all the cemetaries I've seen around here have gates and are locked at sunset. But there may be some tiny ones that aren't.