Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is just around the corner and thousands of people in San Diego County are preparing for this important celebration that honors loved ones who have passed.
The holiday, which is celebrated mostly in Mexico on November 1 and 2, is a reunion of families at their loved one’s place of rest: the cemetery. It is believed that souls that have departed will come back to the world to visit with family on those days.
Along with parties at the cemeteries, families will also build ofrendas, or altars, in their home, which have offerings dedicated to loved ones who have passed. Items include photographs, personal items, their favorite things and more.
Many families start building their altars at least a week before Día de los Muertos.
If you’d like to take part in preparing an altar this year, here is what you’ll need and what the items represent:
A table to act as your base. You can also add boxes, crates, or books to create multiple levels. Colorful fabric or a tableclothPapel picado or paper banners to decorate the table. The colorful paper represents the union between life and death. Candles. Candles represent fire that is meant to light up the path for the spirits to return.Water and food. These are your offerings to the deceased family members. You are encouraged to place the favorite dishes of your loved ones and in addition, pan de muerto, fruits, and chocolates along with their favorite alcohol. Pictures. Pictures of your loved ones and mementos, anything that reminds you of them including sugar skulls. Cempasúchil or marigolds are also used to guide the departed back home.
XALPATLAHUAC, MEXICO – NOVEMBER 02: An altar of the dead (Altar de Muertos), a religious site honoring the deceased, is placed inside a house during the Day of the Dead celebrations on November 2, 2021 in Xalpatláhuac, Mexico. Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos), a religious holiday combining the death veneration rituals of Pre-Hispanic cultures with the Catholic practice, is widely celebrated throughout all of Mexico. Based on the belief that the souls of the departed may come back to this world on that day, people gather to pray, eat, drink or play music, to remember friends or family members who have died and to support their souls on the spiritual journey. (Photo by Jan Sochor/Getty Images)
It is estimated that Day of the Dead has been celebrated for over 3,000 years as it has deeply rooted Aztec and Mesoamerican traditions. Now, more than 78% of Mexicans say they celebrate Day of the Dead.
“They bring food, and they bring drinks, they sit down and they feel like they are celebrating with the people they have lost,” said Andres Ortiz, who owns a shop in Old Town. “It [the altars] represents people we have lost, and it is good to remember them and it is an honor for me to have people I met and loved still present in my life.”
