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Dia De Los Muertos:Day Of The Dead

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i day of the dead lg1Dia de los Muertos is right around the corner and has many wondering what exactly it is.

Dia de los Muertos is also known as Day of the Dead and is a popular holiday celebrated in Mexico. It’s also celebrated in other places around the world like Brazil and Spain.

Day of the Dead focuses friends and family coming together to honor those who have passed away. The holiday dates back to the time of the Aztecs, who reportedly celebrated a festival dedicated to the”Lady of the Dead.”

The holiday is celebrated during the first two days of November in connection with Catholic holidays, All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Typically, November 1 is dedicated to children who have passed on and November 2, to adults.

Celebrations include building alters and decorating them with pictures of the deceased, surrounded by candles. Another popular activity is decorating graves with flowers, which are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings—reportedly, celebrators sometimes spend all day and night beside the graves of their friends or family.

On Dia de los Muertos, many people also celebrate their loved one who has passed on, with his or her favorite foods. Celebrators have also been known to bring toys for deceased children, bottles of tequila for deceased adults and sometimes leave pillows and blankets out so that the dead can have a place to rest.

The holiday is associated with the skull symbol. Often, celebrators sport skull masks and celebrate with food decorated as a skull, one of the most popular being sugar skulls.

In some parts of the United States, Day of the Dead is quite popular too. Celebrations include wearing masks, carrying signs honoring the dead and building alters to remember those who have passed.

Here on Long Island one place is celebrating the holiday with art. At Nassau County Museum of Art in Roslyn, a new exhibit has opened featuring an early first edition of Francisco Goya: Los Caprichos. Los Caprichos features 80 etchings by Spanish artist, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes that was published in 1799 and is regarded as one of the most influential series of graphic images in the history of Western art.

In honor of the new exhibition, the museum celebrated the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos this past weekend. Saturday, October 29, the museum invited families to enjoy a day of interactive tours of the exhibition, traditional Dia de los Muertos arts and crafts, music and a parade.