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altar for the dead

Los Dias De Los Muertos

At the same time as Halloween and the Christian holy days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day (November 1st and 2nd), Mexicans celebrate the Days of the Dead (Los Dias de los Muertos). Mexican families remember both their dead, and the continuity of life in their children, recognizing the cycle of life and death that is human existance. Families build colorful memorial altars at home and visit the graves of their close kin, where they tend and decorate the gravesite, hold a picnic, and socialize with other family and community members who gather at the cemetary, remembering the departed by telling stories about them.

One explanation for the timing of this celebration is the return of the Monarch butterflies. Other sources, however, trace the holiday back to an Aztec celebration honoring Mictecacihuatl ("Lady of the Dead"), and dedicated to children and the dead.

Others have also taken up the use of these days for memorials of the dead.

 

How do we remember a thousand women?
Listen for the sound
of one missing voice
at a time.
How do we remember a thousand children?
Trace the lines
of one missing face
at a time.
How do we remember a thousand
husband, brothers, lovers?
Trace the lines
of one missing face
at a time.
How do we save a thousand lives?
Hold one hand,
listen to one voice,
look in one face
at a time.