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thedarksiren2
ifeliz día de los muertos!
El dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a celebration that captures the idea of unity between life and death. It emphasizes death as part of the cycle of life. It came into being when the Catholic feast of All Souls Day, a day to remember the dead with prayer, merged with Native Indian rituals of death after the Spanish conquered Mexico in 1521.
El Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st, when, it is believed, the spirits of the dead relatives return to their homes. For this special occasion, altars are cleaned and decorated on October 31st to welcome the honored guests. On these altars one traditionally places Zempasuchil (yellow Marigolds), candles, toys, religious pictures, cut tissue-paper decorations, and personal mementos as offerings to the returned souls. Other offerings include incense, cigarettes, liquor, and food such as tamales, sugar skulls, and pan de muerto (bread of the dead), things the returning soul enjoyed during life.
At around 4:00 A.M. on November 1st, the spirits of the children are expected. They are expected for only a few hours and around 8:00 A.M., their departure is marked by the blowing out of tiny candles and their removal from the altar. At about 3:00 P.M. the spirits of the adults arrive and large candles are lit. It is said that the spirits will go away weeping if nothing is offered to them.
Prayers are said at the altar around 8:00 P.M., and everyone attends mass at church on the morning of November 2nd. In the evening, they will fill the cemeteries where graves of the departed relatives are cleaned and decorated with Zempasuchil flowers. Once there, incense is burned and food is offered until dawn. On November 4th, the altars and decorations are removed.
Tissue-paper banners with cutout designes of animated skeleton figures adorn altars and homes during El Dia de los Muertos. The art of making these banners was similar to leather tooling. Today, half the fun is cutting out the tissue-paper with scissors and creating one's own designs. 
Candles
Candles, besides their religious symbolism, are placed on the ofrenda to light and guide the way of the souls to the altar.
Sugar skulls & Candles:
Tree of Death Candelabra:
Zempasuchil - Marigolds
The Zempasuchil was the symbolic flower of death to the Aztecs. Perhaps this association was made because once the marigold is cut, it dies very quickly. For this reason, Flowers on the ofrenda refer to the earth and the regenerative forces of nature.
Also, in some regions, marigold petals are strewn to create a symbolic pathway leading souls to the ofrenda.
Incense
Incense is burned on grave sites and on the ofrenda. It is the Copal resin that isused as incense. Such resins are extracted from trees of the Burseraceae family. Its perfumed smoke surrounds the altar and grave, providing and atmosphere of mystery. The transformation of earth and matter (tree resin) into something ethereal (smoke) is a symbolic transformation of the physical to the supernatural which is associated with the death of the returning soul.
A trail of incense is an aroma which rises up to Heaven; it is carried on the air to Heaven.
More pictures....
and, easily one of the most beautiful pics I've seen ...
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The user pic seen with this entry is from a Day of the Dead celebration held at Jawndomay a couple years ago. If I were at home, I might post some pics from that night, as it was one of the best parties ever thrown in that place, for sure, nevermind the gorgeous altar Jay and I constructed for the event.
I am not, however, in Jawndomay, so you'll just have to settle with my goofy user-pic.
Goodnight world, alive and dead.
