The Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos ) is a celebration of the deceased which occurs on November 1 and November 2, mostly in Mexico and among Mexican Americans, coinciding with the Roman Catholic celebrations of All Hallows Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. The origins of this celebration can be traced back to the Aztecs and Mayans as long as 3,000 years ago. Then along came the colonizers.

Pre-Catholic festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl, known as the "Lady of the Dead", and were dedicated to the celebration of children and the lives of adult dead relatives.

When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in Central America in the 15th century, in an attempt to convert people to Catholicism, they moved the festival from late summer to the beginning of November. That way they made it coincide with All Hallows Eve, All Saints and All Souls days. ( All Saints' Day is the day after Halloween, which was in turn based on the earlier pagan ritual of Samhain, the Celtic day and feast of the dead. So everything pretty much got stacked together. Or, another way to view it is that the need to celebrate the dead is universal, appearing in various forms throughout the history of religions. )

The Day of the Dead is far from a mournful occasion. This is a time to really party about and with the lives that went before us. Rather than fear evil or malevolent spirits, families plan for weeks in advance to make tributes to their ancestors that are happy and respectful and even playful.

For example, families build altars to the dead in their homes They surround these altars with flowers, food and pictures of the deceased. They light candles and place them next to the altar.

The day also includes visits to the cemetery to clean and decorate graves. Some families may offer gifts there, or may actually spend the night there with loved ones by candlelight, offering food and strong drink or milk to their ancestors.

t is believed that the veil between death and life is thin at this time, so that communication with the dead is possible. Marigolds are a flower commonly put on graves in Mexico to help attract the souls to the grave so that communication may occur. But this is not a spooky sort of scary time. It is a fiesta. People laugh and recall funny memories of the departed. Picnics are held at graveside by some. Smiling sugar skulls are eten and used as decoration.The good times are remembered.

As I researched this article I thought how wonderful it must be to be able to picnic at a loved one's grave site -- for some reason the idea just turns the American way of grieving on its head. We almost make death itself sacred in this country and in many other western countries.

As for me, I love the idea that people might decorate and tidy up my grave every year and laugh about the good times. I'd sure visit them if I could. We could hang out and share a sip of tequila, have some Day of the Dead bread and maybe fly a kite. It would be nice to visit with everyone, to find out how they are doing, to check in once a year.

I think that on the day I may just bring lunch over to my parents' grave -- you know, just to tidy things up, relax, check in with them, and laugh about how sweet it was (correction: IS) to be a family.

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RELATED BLOGS

Lady of the Dead has an excellent photo gallery of Los Angeles Day of the Dead celebrations.

Catherine Al-Matan explains:

Traditionally, the altar consists of four sides and four levels, representing the four stages of life and the four directions. The four seeds used in building the altar include tomatillo, corn, chile, and cacao. Each of the four elements is represented in the altar, fire (candle), air (flute, feather), earth, and water (shell). Each of the four stages of life are represented in the four growth stages of corn (seed, fresh, dried, and corn used in different foods like tortillas and tamales)...Offerings are also included on the altar, including salt, sugar, and maize (corn), flowers, platanos (bananas), and orange

Caroline wants to set up an altar in her home honoring the dead in her life.

The sad truth is that, as I get older, more and more people pass out of my life. A good friend died, unexpectedly, a few years ago. My last surviving grandparent died a year or so later. My father-in-law died last year. Another close friend’s father died just a few months ago..'These are people I don’t want to forget, and assembling their photos in a little tableau once a year — in the autumn, when the year is dying as well — seemed like a nice way to remember them. You’ve probably seen these altars before: the annual displays of photos of loved ones who have died, decked out with flowers, candles, and edible treats. They’re set up for November 1 and 2, the days just after Halloween, by families throughout Latin America and by Latinos living in North America.

Theinternationalmom describes the Guatemalan custom of building Day of the Dead kites

So, after Halloween is over and the kids have decided that they really don’t want to eat five pounds of sugar, we turn to El Día de los Muertos. The kids will likely add to an altar, already started, in the front hall. We will serve the Guatemalan Fiambre, a delicious pickled red salad, with dinner. Unlike Guatemalan tradition, we do not visit, party and eat at relatives’ gravesites (many have been cremated). But, weather permitting, we will try to fly kites.

Pan de Muerto (bread of the Dead) is made and placed on home altars. A recipe can be found here by Chelsea. Also listed are other Day of the Dead recipes for Calabaza En Tacha- Candied Pumpkin and Sugar Skulls

Christina mentions her building of an altar, and makes suggestions for the symbolism of contents of altars built for this day.

Being that I love making retablos (altars) with images of the divine feminine, such as the Guadalupe and Conquistadora, and have those retablos all over my house, decorating an altar for the season comes naturally.

For me personally, the time of Dia de los Muertos begins in October and continues to about mid-November. This is a beautiful season and a time that I specifically ask my ancestors and deceased friends and relatives to visit me with their gifts of wisdom and love. I usually get some sort of revelation or enriching experience during this time that especially helps me for the ensuing year.

Mata H , CE for Religion & Spirituality blogs at Times Fool and has lot of folks with whom she will talk and celebrate on The Day of the Dead.