How to Create an Altar for Day of the Dead
Dia de los Muetros, or Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday held October 31 to November 2. This holiday brings together close friends and family members who wish to celebrate and remember their dearly departed loved ones. Participants bring gifts to the graves of the deceased, including the departed's favorite foods, flowers and other items, and spend time at the gravesite to remember their loved one. The holiday features elaborate, colorful decorations including altars, also known as ofrendas, built to welcome the spirits of the deceased into the home.
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Things You'll Need
- Table
- 4 long pieces of PVC pipe
- Heavy-duty string
- Marigolds
- Small and medium boxes
- Small plastic or wire ties
- Black tablecloth
- Colored tissue paper
- Paper cutters
- Scissors
- Pictures of loved ones
- Candles
- Incense
- Fruit
- Selected foods
- Bread
- Glasses of water
Instructions
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Prepare the arch. Use string to attach the flexible PVC piping to the table, one piece to each table leg. Secure the PVC to the table at the top of the table leg and at the bottom for extra stability. The length of the desired PVC pipe will depend on how far above the table you will want the arch to reach. Sugar cane stalks are the medium traditionally used to make the arch.
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Tie the long pieces of PVC piping together at the top. Connect the two pieces attached to the front table legs together first, forming the front part of the arch. Then attach the back two pieces of the PVC arch together. The arch signifies the passing of the deceased between this world and the next during death.
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Layer the table with medium and small boxes. Place the medium boxes on the bottom layer and use the smaller boxes to build tiers or steps. Your finished creation should look similar to a set of small steps.
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Place the tablecloth over the tiered boxes. Ensure that the tablecloth is large enough to cover all of the boxes and the tabletop.
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Attach short-stemmed marigolds to the PVC piping, beginning from the bottom of the pipe and extending the entire length of the arch. Marigolds, recognized as the "flower of the dead," serve as a major representation of the Day of the Dead festival. The sweet scent of the marigolds is thought to appeal to the spirits of the deceased and entice them back to the land of the living.
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Design your papel picado decorations and cut the designs from tissue paper using paper cutters or scissors. Papel picado are pieces of tissue paper that have been elaborately decorated by punching or cutting designs into the paper. Traditionally made with small cutting chisels, papel picado can be made by pressing small paper cutters onto the tissue paper.
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Attach the decoration to the sides of the table on top of the tablecloth using tape.
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Place a picture of the deceased individual or individuals being honored on the top tier of the altar.
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Add vases of flowers to the altar. If possible, use the favorite flowers of the individual to whom the altar is dedicated.
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Place incense and candles around the photographs and on the different tiered levels of the altar. The incense is said to remove any negative spirits from the area, while guiding the spirits of those being honored to the altar. Alternatively, the light of the candles lights the way for the spirits on their journey.
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Add bread, fruit, special foods and glasses of water to the altar. The spirits of loved ones are said to consume the aromas of the foods, while they are thought to use the water to quench their thirst. The water is used as a symbol of purity and the foundation on which the body thrives and lives. The foods chosen are up to the person building the altar. Traditional foods used include enchiladas, tamales and chocolate.
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