Community altar honoring loved ones who have died

Dia picThe 11th Annual Dia de los Muertos

(Day of the Dead) Celebration

 Friday November 1, 2013, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm

 Experienced Goods Thrift Shop

 77 Flat Street, Brattleboro

 

 

Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, is an important holiday in Latin America when families gather to honor their loved ones who have died. The celebration is not a mournful one, but rather a time to share with family members and visit with the souls of the departed.

On November 1st, Gallery Walk Friday, we invite you to Day of the Dead festivities at our Experienced Goods Thrift Shop on Flat Street.  This celebration can be a way for children especially, to express a connection with and memories of a loved one who has died.

  5:30  Ofrenda (a large community altar)  Bring an item to lay on the altar in honor of your loved one —please use photocopied pictures and objects of no great concern since items cannot be returned.

  6:15  Hallowell, the Hospice Singing Group,  will sing at the altar

  Light refreshments will be served

Dia De Los Muertos is one of Mexico’s traditional holidays reuniting and honoring beloved ancestors, family and friends.  The historical roots of this celebration date back more than 3,000 years to the pre-Hispanic cultures of indigenous people native to Mexico and Meso-America.  Life was seen as a dream. It was believed that only in dying was a human being truly awake and the soul set free.  Death seems to hold no terror and is always with the people in their art, their legends, and their religion.  Death was not a mysterious and fearful presence but a realistic recognizable character as much a part of life as life itself.

Dia De Los Muertos is important for the family to maintain good relationships with the dead for it is they who intercede and bring good fortune to the living.  It is a time to come to terms with our mortality and become aware of the cycle of life and death. It is a day for honoring our beloved ones.

Traditionally, it is a time when family members share stories remembering their lives together.  A special altar is made and adorned with pictures of the deceased to remind the younger generation of their family roots.  They picnic with their loved ones offering food and drink to strengthen spirits enough to return to their other world.  The skeleton figures and pictures displayed during this fiesta represent the spirit still living after leaving its flesh on this earth.

The altar is the focal point to observing the Dia De Los Muertos.  It is constructed in the home and/or at the gravesite or business establishment.  Entire families construct altars as an annual commitment. Beginning in mid-October, children and adults prepare to welcome the souls of their dead relatives and loved ones, who return home at this time each year to make sure all is well and that they have not been forgotten.   From http://www.olvera-street.com/

Common Misconceptions About the
Day of the Dead
Celebrations excerpted from May Herz

 The Day of the Dead honors our relatives who have died, not death per se. We welcome the opportunity to reflect upon our lives, our heritage, our ancestors and the meaning and purpose of our own existence.  Altars or ofrendas are not for worshiping but for offering our love and remembering departed family members.

Mexicans have celebrated the Day of the Dead since 1800 B.C., so this is not the Mexican version of Halloween. It is a family time and is not scary or morbid.

It is generally not a sad ritual, but a day of introspective happiness as we remember our loved ones. Because it’s unfamiliar it may seem a “strange” ritual, yet it’s very similar to visiting a grave and leaving flowers or stuffed animals, or lighting a candle to remember our deceased loved ones.