Today we pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. Sergio and I remember:
My father: Luis Olivos Ruiz de Gamboa.
My grandmother: Georgina Quiroga Carrasco
His grandfather: Julian Sierra
In Chile, we simply visit graves of our loved ones much as it is done here in the USA for Memorial day, however, in Mexico it is more festive. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts.
Because my father lived in Mexico for 8 years, and my grandmother loved my father ... I like to remember them by celebrating The Day of the Dead as the Mexicans do: a celebration!
I prepare the food my father or grandmother loved. and we toast with good wine...including leaving them each a cup at our altar whcih we light up with candles and incense in their memory.
In Mexico...death is not a time for mourning, rather rejoicing- as it is simply another stage of life.
Today we celebrat Día de los Muertos /Day of the Dead ).
From Wikipedia:
"Scholars trace the origins of the modern holiday to indigenous observances dating back thousands of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to a goddess called Mictecacihuatl. In Spain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather at cemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures"
