How to Celebrate Dias de los Muertos
Los Dias de Los Muertos (November 1st and 2nd) is a Mexican holiday that combines aspect of Catholicism and Aztec beliefs to honor the dead. It is, contrary to what you may expect, a time for great rejoicing, celebration and feasting.
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Instructions
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Celebrate the deceased as they are celebrated in Mexico; construct a coffin and recruit a pretend "corpse" to lay in it. Parade around the house or through the streets, throwing fruit and candy to the corpse.
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Continue until you reach the cemetery, or go to the cemetery the following day.
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Clean and weed the gravestones of family members, and light a candle for each departed relative.
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Lay out zenpasuchitls on the graves. These strong-smelling flowers are believed to help the dead find their way to the living world.
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Serve the dishes your loved ones liked to eat, as well as pan de los muertos, marzipan skulls, coconut candy and skeleton cookies.
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Stay up and feast all night in the cemetery, playing live music or listening to radios.
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Dress up in scary costumes in the morning, such as ghosts and skeletons, and run around the cemetery to scare away any remaining spirits from this world.
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Tips & Warnings
Construct altars in your home to your deceased relatives, if desired, with photographs and trinkets.
Use special candles at the cemetery that will burn all night.
