{"id":4197,"date":"2005-11-04T00:04:25","date_gmt":"2005-11-04T04:04:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/11\/04\/a-couple-days-late-dias-de-lo"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:26","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:26","slug":"a-couple-days-late-dias-de-los-muertos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/11\/04\/a-couple-days-late-dias-de-los-muertos\/","title":{"rendered":"a couple days late: dias de los muertos"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite a timely reminder from Jason at Roadrunner Haiku<\/font><\/a> Journal<\/em>,<\/font> I’ve managed to miss celebrating Mexico’s Dias de Los Muertos<\/em> –<\/font> the Days of the Dead. My sole visit to Mexico, in 1988, coincided<\/font> with Dias de Los Muertos and the sights, sounds and spirit of the<\/font> celebration are among my favorite memories. The Mexican emphasis<\/font> on embracing death and the dead, rather than fearing them, brings<\/font> joy to those days, to the surprise of Eurocentric Americans. <\/font><\/p>\n

\"tiny A favorite souvenir from that trip is a typical, tiny<\/font> diorama, featuring several skeletons in a kitchen<\/font> preparing <\/font>and enjoying a feast.<\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/font>\"diabloLoera\"<\/font> At his Dia de los Muertos<\/font><\/em><\/a> website, artist <\/font>Ladislao Loera<\/font><\/a><\/font> explains the celebrations, and also presents his striking artwork,<\/font> which <\/font>brings an ancient tradition, that has been influenced by<\/font> several cultures, into a modern idiom. Here is his description<\/font> of the festivities:<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

“Dia de los Muertos is celebrated throughout Mexico and<\/font> the Southwest states, and coincides with the Christian All<\/font> Souls and All Saints Days. On November 1st and 2nd people<\/font> remember those who are deceased. November 1st is considered <\/font>the Dia de los Angelitos–the day to remember children that have <\/font>died, November 2nd is the traditional Dia de los Muertos (day of<\/font> the dead). <\/font><\/p>\n

“Pictures of the deceased are placed on Dia de los Muertos <\/font>altars<\/font><\/a> with their favorite food and drink. Candles to light their way home, <\/font>and soap and water to freshen-up after their long trip back are also<\/font> often placed on altars. Trinkets they were fond of, symbols they <\/font>would understand, and <\/font>gifts<\/font><\/a> are left to communicate to them that<\/font> they are always in the hearts of those they left behind, and that <\/font>they are still part of the family even though they aren’t physically<\/em><\/font> with us any longer. <\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

…………………………………………………………………………….. Tres Calaveras<\/a> from Loera <\/font> <\/font>
\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

“Families often spend time at the cemetery with loved ones, bringing<\/font> food and drink along with all the other necessities for a picnic. However, <\/font>at this picnic the deceased is the guest of honor. Dia de los Muertos<\/font> is a time of joy because we know that we are surrounded by those <\/font>that we love–both living and dead. “<\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

You can find many more links and images here<\/a>, including a Lesson Plan<\/a> to teach children about Dias de lost muertos. For more information, read a chapter<\/a> from Death and<\/em><\/font> Bereavement In The Americas, <\/em>entitled “What Do Mexicans Celebrate On The Day <\/font>Of The Dead?” (2003), by Salvador, R. J.<\/font><\/p>\n


\n<\/font><\/p>\n

\"diabloLoeraN\" dagosan<\/em> has yet to pen a proper poem for the Days of the Dead. At<\/font><\/font> haikupoet.com<\/a>, <\/font><\/font>however, Paul David Mena (a\/k\/a extraspecialbitter) celebrated the <\/font>Day <\/font><\/font>of the Dead<\/font> <\/font><\/font>on Nov. 1st<\/a> and <\/font>2nd<\/font><\/a> with haiku, and posted four more featuring <\/font>All Souls Day<\/font><\/a><\/font> on Nov. <\/font><\/font>2nd. Perhaps by coincidence, from Tokyo, <\/font>Sakuo <\/font>chose a haiku for Everyday Issa<\/font><\/em><\/a><\/font> <\/font><\/font>that tells of dying, and he added his own related artwork and renku.<\/font><\/font> These early November days are, then, a very good time to re-connect with loved<\/font><\/font> ones who have died — with joy for their living and for our remaining together in <\/font><\/font>memory and spirit, and<\/em> on the Day of the Dead.<\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

Dias de los Muertos
\ngrandma passes grandpa
\nthe olive platter<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

………… by dagosan<\/font><\/a> [Nov. 4, 2005]<\/em><\/font><\/font><\/font> Loera’s surfeador<\/font><\/em><\/a><\/font> \"surfeadorLoeraN\" <\/font><\/a><\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Afterthought<\/strong><\/em> (October 30, 2007): The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian<\/a> has this description of Los Dias de los Muertos page<\/a> that lists many events that have be held this year to coincide with the celebration:<\/p>\n

\n

“Although many cultures see death as a cause for sadness rather than celebration, the cultures that observe Los Dias de Los Muertos do not: Death is not seen as something to be faced with fear but as the doorway to other levels of existence. It is believed that during Los Dias de Los Muertos the souls of the dead return to visit the lviign – a cause for celebation — just like the welcome given a dear friend or relative who visits after a long time away.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite a timely reminder from Jason at Roadrunner Haiku Journal, I’ve managed to miss celebrating Mexico’s Dias de Los Muertos – the Days of the Dead. My sole visit to Mexico, in 1988, coincided with Dias de Los Muertos and the sights, sounds and spirit of the celebration are among my favorite memories. The Mexican […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-15H","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4197"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4197\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12936,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4197\/revisions\/12936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}