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ust like ghoulish Halloween addicts love getting creepy in October, November 1st marks the begin- ning of the most soulful celebration in honoring loved ones who have passed away, celebrated by people of Mexican heritage throughout the world. It is a two-day festival of remembering past lives and to help support their spiri- tual journey in a highly personal display of affection. The visual of this celebration is incongruous and logic-defying. It is called Dia de los Muertos, or "Day of the Dead." The tradition takes its inspiration from "La Calavera Catrina" (the Elegant Skull), a piece by printmaker Jose Guadalupe Posada (1851-1913), as a parody of a Mexican upper-class female. Posada's haunting image of a costumed woman with a skeleton face has become associat- ed with the Day of the Dead. Today, people create "Catrina" faces, to mimic those of skeletons in a preserved expression and to continue this tradition but also embrace the inevitability of death. Believing that the dead would be insulted with mourning or sadness, Dia de los Muertos celebrates the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties and activities they had enjoyed in their former lives. On this festive day, the dead are awakened from their eternal sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones. On October 31, All Hallows Eve, the children make a children's altar to invite the angelitos (spirits of dead children) to come back for a visit. November 1 is All Saints Day, where the adult spirits will come to visit. November 2 is All Souls Day, when fami- lies go to the cemetery to decorate the graves and tombs of their relatives. It begins with the cleaning of the gravesite or their home, as their very spe- cial "spiritual guests" are arriving, then cre- ating ofrendas (altars). The ofrendas are a sumptuous haven of multi-tiered offerings of food, drink and photographs of the deceased. Fruit punch is served to refresh the spirit after its long journey, while Pan de Muertos (Bread of the Dead) is a round sweet loaf topped with skull and crossbones decoration. There is meaning to each of the offer- ings on an ofrenda. Salt is a symbol of purification. Four candles at the top pro- vide a lighted path to this world. Burning copal is a tradition from the Aztecs, who used the incense as an offering to the Gods. The deceased's favorite mementos (if he was a farmer, for example, his hoe, work hat and tools ) create a familiar setting for his return. Marigolds are the flower of Day of The Dead, which grow and wilt quickly, reflecting the fleeting nature of life. Their aroma helps lure a spirit back. Sugar skull sweet treats are a light hear ted touch, and often poetry is written for the deceased. It is believed that monarch butterflies are said to visit. Traditional foods served for this festival are mole (spicy chocolate), tamales, chapolenes (grasshoppers), and bottles of tequila, mescal, pulque or jars of atole. Some people believe the spirits of the dead eat the "spiritual essence" 78 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • H O L I D A Y 2 0 1 8 COLLECTING T E X T A N D P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y M A R J O R I E S N O W Dia de los Muertos J A symbolic Mexican Folk Art mask depicts Day of the Dead figures perched upon a devil's face.