On the 3rd of November Verdens kvinder i Danmark together with Claudia Adeath arranged an event together for elderly people – this time in the activity center ( Aktivitetscenret) Østerbro. We visited Thursday-Coffee Table in the Center showed how Saints Day is celebrated in Mexico!
Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) is one of the most important celebrations in Mexico. It contains the Ancient, pre-Columbian rituals merged with the Catholic Saints Day for a life-affirming celebration of the dead. In 2008 The Day of the Dead was included in UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.
The celebration lasts from All Saints Day (1st of Novembe to all Souls Day ( 2nd of November). In these days, people gather to honor and commemorate family, friends and loved ones who have passed away. The Day of the Dead is not a sad day, but a joyful feast, where the living and the dead are reunited. Mexicans cover tables with all the things that the deceased had a special meaning for- different favorite foods, cake, fruits, beer or maybe tequila. At the cemetery, people decorate the graves with lights and orange tagetes, which are the dead’s favorite flowers, because they light up and show the souls the way back to the land of the living world.
Everywhere in Mexico, sugar and chocolate skulls are sold. Skulls and skeletons have been a popular feature of the Day of the Dead. It is said that they help to make death less sad.
Claudia used pictures and videos in order to show to the visitors of the center how Mexicans are preparing for the holiday and how they celebrate it. In order to make the atmosphere as authentic as possible, our volunteers strived to decorate rooms in the same way as people do it in Mexico. We hope that the photos give an impression of it.
The focal point of the celebration is the altar of the dead. The altar is a way to pay tribute to the deceased. It is covered with votive offerings, which are important in relation to the person, who is remembered.
The Center’s visitors had been told in advance about the tradition, and many of them had brought one thing that represented their deceased family members or friends. It could be a pipe, cigarettes, a skein of yarn, or a paintbrush, whose sister, friend or brother-in-law, had been happy to paint with. Anything that recalls them being happy for. Someone came with photographs of their deceased relatives. The most active seniors met some days in advance and had created a photo collage for the altar. In this way, the altar, that Claudia created for the event, became a result of joint efforts.
At the meeting, everybody had the opportunity to taste all the different Mexican snacks, prepared by Aurelia and served hot by Association’s volunteers.
It was a really nice afternoon, where the participants experienced the festive mood by a life-affirming celebration of the dead. You can also experience it by looking at the pictures on our Facebook page
In 2017, the Association will continue to organize cultural events for elderly people, and in this way provide an opportunity to familiarize themselves with interesting cultural traditions from various countries.