Children are curious by nature, and surely this Day of the Dead will have many questions. We share these curiosities that you will surely love.
I do not know a child who has not been struck by all the decorations, customs and other elements that surround the Day of the Dead. They always surprise us with their questions and sometimes we don’t know what to answer them.
If it has happened to you, do not stay with the doubt! Here we share 10 curiosities about the Day of the Dead party so you can share them with your little ones and live this beautiful Mexican tradition to the fullest:
1.-A day for children and another for adults
According to tradition, deceased children are celebrated on November 1, and adults on November 2. However, for the Catholic Church, day 2 is for everyone, since the 1st is the Feast of All Saints.
2.-The cempasúchil flowers
Tradition has it that orange is the only color that the dead can see. So, to return to the world of the living, they use the petals of the marigold flowers as a guide. That is why this flower is used to decorate the roads.
3.-Food on the altar
You can not miss the delicious Pan de Muerto, which represents the bones of the deceased (that is why it is decorated with bones). In addition, the deceased’s favorite food, which is normally Mexican, is placed in the offerings.
4.- Was the skull sitting on your stool?
The famous skulls are popular poetry in which we mock death and also ourselves. It is to remind us that death is inevitable and that it is best to have a happy time during our life.
5.-The four elements in the offerings
An offering must contain the four main elements of nature: water, represented in a glass; fire, in the candles; earth in the fruits and sawdust, and wind in the confetti.
6.-Sweet skulls
I bet your little ones love them. Previously, on November 2, the bosses of the haciendas gave their employees sweets, known as? Calaveritas ?. (That is why the American tradition of going out to order candy was associated with this tradition and now children go out to order their skull.)
7.-The copal
This aroma serves to scare away evil spirits and prevent them from taking food away from the faithful departed who return on this day.
8.-La Catrina
He has become the main character of the Day of the Dead. She emerged in the mid s. XX, to mock those people who pretended to be from the upper class, but who actually belonged to a lower social class.
9.-An ancestral celebration
The Aztecs dedicated this celebration to Mictecacihuatl,? The lady of death ?, queen of Mictlán, who lived on the lowest level of the Underworld.
10.-The Day of the Dead lasted a month!
The Aztecs dedicated a whole month to this important celebration, which began in early August, but with the arrival of the Spanish and Hispanic traditions, the dates definitely changed.
As you will notice, the Day of the Dead is a rich Mexican tradition. Don’t forget to take your little ones to visit the offerings and get to know this beautiful celebration.