Now, I think it's important right now to make one thing very clear. Dia de los Muertos is NOT Mexican Halloween. It is it's own very separate and distinct holiday. I've noticed recently, Dia de los Muertos decorations being sold as Halloween things, but don't mix the two up. When you're celebrating holidays from other people's cultures, it's important to do so with respect and try to keep in line with the intent of the holiday as much as possible.
Dia de los Muertos is really more like a Memorial Day. It is on November 2, and is for remembering our loved ones who have passed on.
Hmmm, sounds a lot like family history, huh? Like...the hearts of the children turning to the fathers? ;)
To celebrate you're supposed to set out pictures of the loved ones you're thinking about, perhaps even little tokens that remind you of them. A lot of times people will build shrines, I don't think you really need to go that far. They make Pan de Muertos, which is a yummy sweet bread and decorate sugar skulls.
See Dia de los Muertos isn't about death being scary. It's really more of a celebration. So all the skeletons and skulls you see are decorated with bright colors and flowers.
So, what can you do to celebrate this awesome holiday? Well, here's some things we like to do and other things that we'll add in the future a part of our homeschooling.
Make sugar skulls! You can buy molds on Amazon!
Make Pan de Muertos. We like this recipe.
Tell stories of your ancestors or people who have passed. Set out their pictures.
Visit the grave of a loved one.
Watch this fun movie.
Write a Calaveras Poem about somebody (a silly, sort of epitaph kind of poem. More info here.)
Make some yummy authentic Mexican food!
Do a family history project. Make a family tree. Gather stories and pictures from grandparents. Lay out a family history timeline. Make a book of remembrance.
Read these books.
And here's a song we really love to sing.
Cuando el reloj marca la una
los esqueletos salen de su tumba,
tumba, que tumba, que tumba, tumba, tumba.
Cuando el reloj marca las dos
dos esqueletos comen arroz
tumba, que tumba, que tumba, tumba, tumba.
Cuando el reloj marca las tres
tres esqueletos se vuelven al revés
tumba, que tumba, que tumba, tumba, tumba.
Cuando el reloj marca las cuatro
cuatro esqueletos van al teatro
tumba, que tumba, que tumba, tumba, tumba.
Cuando el reloj marca las cinco
cinco esqueletos se pegan un gran brinco
tumba, que tumba, que tumba, tumba, tumba.
Cuando el reloj marca las seis
seis esqueletos juegan ajedrez
tumba, que tumba, que tumba, tumba, tumba.
Cuando el reloj marca las siete
siete esqueletos se montan en cohete
tumba, que tumba, que tumba, tumba, tumba.
Cuando el reloj marca las ocho
ocho esqueletos comen bizcocho
tumba, que tumba, que tumba, tumba, tumba
Cuando el reloj marca las nueve
nueve esqueletos todos se mueven
tumba, que tumba, que tumba, tumba, tumba
Cuando el reloj marca las diez
diez esqueletos se duermen otra vez
Listen to it here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYyRibaMQoA
Now, Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 2, but I like to take a week to build up to it. That way it doesn't get lost in the first day of Christmas music and Halloween burn out. haha You choose!
