Frank X. Moraga
By Frank X. Moraga / Amigos805
It’s been a few years since I started setting up my family’s altar / ofrenda. The ritual is always the same year after year. First I find the plastic box stuffed full of tiny Día de los Muertos figures — skeletons dressed as Aztec Jaguars or mariachi performers and other Day of the Dead decorations. Then I check my stash of small votive candles to see if I have to make a quick trip to the store. I then find an 8-foot table and place on it my mother’s handmade crochet tablecloth, then the mini altar with the tiny figures, the candles and sugar skulls.
Then comes the most important part; photos of our dearly departed mother and father, brother, aunts, uncles, great-uncles, grandparents and great-grandparents.
We then try to remember their favorite food or drink and place those items on the ofrenda; the Mexican chocolate, pan dulce, Burgundy wine, tequila, cheeses and molé. Golden marigolds are also placed around the altars symbolizing the brevity of life and creating a scented pathway for the returning spirits. If we are lucky, someone has remembered to bring the incense made from resin of the copal tree. Luckier still is if they are able to light it properly, for there is certainly some skill involved. Then the time comes to light all the candles and then the magic begins.
Día de los Muertos is a time when the veil between life and death is at its sheerest point, a time when we honor our loved ones and beckon them to bless us with their presence and their best wishes.
Visitors gather in the dusk and walk around the ofrendas, asking us questions about our departed relatives and the meanings behind the color of the candles, the use of salt and the multi-tiered mini altars set up on the tables.
We gladly answer those questions and we are often thanked by visitors for sharing a bit of our culture and family history.
But we can usually expect that the “H” question will be asked as least once by visitors, H as in Halloween.
It can be confusing for some because of the close proximity of Halloween and Día de los Muertos.
From my perspective, Halloween, or All Hallows’ Eve, is said to originate from the pagan Celtic Samhain festival, a harvest event that heralds the end of summer. It is traditionally a time of trick-or-treating and costumes used to fool the spirits. In Ireland, the practice of carving out a turnip and placing a candle inside was used as a way to ward off evil spirits, which led to our present day use of Jack-‘O-Lanterns. Another practice includes taking a circuitous trip home to shake off any unwanted otherworldly visitors. The tradition has also morphed over the years to acts of minor vandalism if the costumed ones feel they haven’t been richly rewarded with candy.
Día de los Muertos traditionally takes place during the Catholic holidays of All Saints Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls Day on Nov. 2.
Rather than driving away spirits, the Latino culture tends to embrace them and honor them, inviting them in to join us for some good memories as we recall the lives of our departed ones.
Traditions have a way of changing over the centuries. The origins of holidays are often murky, with some saying the ruling religion at the time used the so-called pagan gathering points and ceremonies as places to build their churches and institute more modern ceremonies.
Who knows? What a lively debate as we celebrate Día de los Muertos.
— Frank X. Moraga is editor/publisher of Amigos805. He has served as business editor, director of diversity and general manager of a bilingual publication at the Ventura County Star, and as a reporter in the community editions of the Orange County Register and Los Angeles Daily News.
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