Honoring Loved and Lost Ones

By: Sophie Dillon

The Day of the Dead began in Mexico and now is spreading around the world. Usually it takes the whole year leading up to these two days to get ready, but the Spanish classes take only a week to get everything ready for the fiesta! Each level creates different art projects and also learns new things about the holiday as they go on through the years.

The Day of the Dead is a holiday that many celebrate to remember their loved ones that have passed. The first day, November 1, is for the children that have passed. The second day, November 2, is for all the adults. The reason why people take so long to get prepared for this holiday is because they make many different things for the day that take many supplies. Some supplies include money, time, details, and, again, TIME! They take their time making sure everything for their loved one is perfect. They make an ofrenda, or a shrine, that contains the dead person's favorite foods, favorite music, different types of candles, and flowers. The Day of the Dead may seem like it is just a huge funeral, but it is quite the opposite. This day is a reason to be happy to be alive. The calaveras, or skulls, that they make all have grins on them that represent the fact that they are not scared of death. And no, people don't just stare that the ofrenda they made all day, they go to the cemetery or streets and dance and have fun.

For bonus, Señora Beall had her classes paint their faces like a calavera. She had Spanish 3 make an online ofrenda of painters they have been discussing and also make food. Mexican food may be the best food EVER! If you have never had sopapilla cheesecake, you are missing out big time!

This is what each class had to do:

Spanish 1:

-Color
-Paper picado
-Wreath
-Mask
-Food

Spanish 2:

-Make salt paintings
-Marshmallows calavera
-Tissue paper flowers
-Paper picado
-Q-tip dancing skeleton
-Food

Spanish 3:

-Presentation
-Sugar skulls
-Food