Day of the Dead altar. Photo: rainy city, Flickr.
Sugary treats, bread and tamales -- the dead have it so good! The Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, is actually two days that combine Aztec traditions with Christianity's All Saints and All Souls Days on Nov. 1 and 2. It is by no means a somber holiday. In fact the Day of the Dead is a joyous time during which the dead re-join the living and are honored by their families.Ancestors are memorialized with visits to cemeteries and homemade altars adorned with ofrendas (offerings). These include items belonging to the dead, candles, flowers, a bowl of water, incense and food, of which the dead are believed to consume the essence prior to the living's meal.
The food most closely associated with the Day of the Dead is pan de muerto (bread of the dead). It varies regionally, and is baked in many shapes, including skulls, human figures, crosses and teardrops, then sprinkled with colored sugar.
Tamales and mole are also essential offerings. The former because of its pre-Columbian origins. "They are pre-Hispanic in nature and also because people tended to be buried in petates (straw mats the Aztecs carried with them to sleep on). The husks are supposed to represent that. The masa is the body, and the sauce is the blood--ghoulish but either truth or tale," says legendary Mexican chef Zarela Martinez.
The latter is the quintessential Mexican celebratory dish. "Mole is a complex dish made for special occasions, one that can involve the whole family," says Iliana de la Vega, a specialist in Mexican cooking at the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio in Texas. "Since Día de los Muertos is a time for the gathering of family and both are culturally important foods, their inclusion is integral."
Sugar skulls, a favorite with children, are elaborately decorated candies emphasizing that death isn't the end of life nor something to be mourned, but an extension of life.
In the United States, the Day of the Dead has become a communal experience often celebrated with festivals like Viva la Vida Fest organized by the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin. Martinez annually erects an altar honoring a deceased friend in her New York City restaurant, Zarela. New photos and traditional recipes will be posted to her Web site on Oct. 31.
How will you celebrate the Day of the Dead? Tell us in the comments!
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