Día de Muertos:

¡Hola amigos! It’s Brenda Romaniello here and today is a very special and spiritual day in Mexico and I’d like to share it with you. El Día de Muertos.

Day of the Dead is a holiday celebrated in central and southern Mexico on November 1 & 2. It’s a special period in which families honour and remember their deceased loved ones.

They believe that the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31, and the spirits of all deceased children (angelitos) are allowed to reunite with their families for 24 hours. On November 2, the spirits of the adults come down to enjoy the festivities that are prepared for them.

Beautiful altars are made in each home decorated with candles, flowers, mounds of fruit, peanuts, plates of turkey mole, stacks of tortillas and big Day-of-the-Dead breads called pan de muerto. The altar needs to have lots of food, sodas, hot cocoa and water for the weary spirits. Toys and candies are left for the angelitos, and on Nov. 2, cigarettes and shots of mezcal are offered to the adult spirits. Little folk art skeletons and sugar skulls, purchased at open-air markets, provide the final touches.

On the afternoon of Nov. 2, the festivities are taken to the cemetery. People clean tombs, play cards, listen to the village band and reminisce about their loved ones.

Today I’d like to teach you some vocabulary related to el Día de Muertos:
–Altar
–Calavera = skull
–El difunto = the deceased
–Velas = candles
–Flores = flowers
–La muerte = death
–¡Qué en paz descansen! = may they rest in peace

Who would you remember today? ¿A quién vas a recordar hoy? Yo recuerdo a mi abuelo Enrique, a mi perrita Poupée y a mi querida suegrita Robyn ¡Qué en paz descansen! Let us know who you remember today in the comments down below.

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