Day of the Dead Not Supposed to Be Scary
Growing up, I honestly never heard of “Day of the Dead” or Dia de Los Muertos. I lived in predominately Caucasian area of the U.S. with not much exposure to Spanish culture. It’s a known fact that Hispanics are now the leading ethnic group making up more of the California population than any other ethnicity. It’s no surprise that Hispanic TV stations, radio stations and even holiday celebrations are on the rise in California. Such is the story of the growing popularity of Day of the Dead on November 1 & 2. The short synopsis of Day of the Dead that I received from an Hispanic artist living in Claremont, Calif. is this:
Day of the Dead is the time when you think about people who have died, and you pay tribute to them by creating displays (altars) of the things that they enjoyed. You portray the deceased as skeletons, but you can dress them in clothing they might have worn, or place things on the altar in a decorative manner — such as a hat your grandmother may have worn, along with the type of newspaper she read, painting she loved, etc. Day of the Dead is a happy, fun event that brings out the positive memories for those who have passed. Like other holiday traditions, one tied to Day of the Dead involves children (and adults) decorating sugar skull candies. The best way to learn about this event is to attend a public event, or as the lady Claremont said she did–start a Day of the Dead party with a pot luck meal.
Here are some Day of the Dead events this weekend:
- DOWNEY November 3, 2013 Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Festival
- GILROY November 3, 2013 Dia De Los Muertos Celebration at Gilroy Downtown Farmer’s Market.
- LOS ANGELES November 2, 2013 Dia De Los Muertos Olvera Street Day of the Dead Fiesta
- OAKLAND 18th Annual Oakland Dia de los Muertos November 2, 2013
- PETALUMA Closing event for El Dia de los Muertos Petaluma November 3, 2o13
- SAN DIEGO SAN DIEGO November 2, 2013 Day of the Dead in Old Tow,n sddayofthedead.org
- VENTURA Day of the Dead Party, Ventura Musuem, November 2, 2013
- WHITTIER Rose Hills Cemetery Dia De Los Muertos Cultural Festival & Marketplace November 3, 2013
