![]() Disney famously tried to trademark “Día de los Muertos” before its 2017 film “Coco.” The examples go on and on. Nike makes Day of the Dead shoes.Ĭalifornia and Arizona sell Day of the Dead lottery tickets. ![]() Halloween stores sell Day of the Dead costumes. The holiday aisles of Target are stuffed with cheap Day of the Dead crafts during October. Indeed, for those who hold the holiday sacred, it’s jarring to see the extent to which it’s now mass-marketed. Stock photo | File photo by Unpslash, St. Originally published on October 26, 2016.FEATURE (THE CONVERSATION) - As a Mexican-American who celebrates Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, at the end of October and beginning of November, I’ve noted an increasing concern the past several years that the holiday is becoming more commercialized. Celebrate Day of the Dead at Disneyland.Day of the Dead 2016 events in Southern California.I hope that once the kids are out of the house that I have done my job and they too will set up altars in their home and pass on the traditions down to their families. It’s an opportunity to share our cultura to a bigger extent and to ingrain in the kids the importance of traditions and rituals. It’s supposed to be a day where loved ones who have passed away are celebrated. Now every time I pass by our altar, I can think good thoughts about him and it opens up conversations with the kids on his life and what life was like for me growing up with him as my dad.ĭay of the Dead is not supposed to be a sad holiday. Once it’s put together though, it gets much better. It hurts my heart to put it together, go through the pictures, and be consciously aware of making sure that he’s represented in the altar through foods that he loved and mementos that remind me of him. In our family, the altar is dedicated to my dad who passed away in 2009. Putting together the altar is always the hardest part because you’re reminded and connecting to the death of your loved one. The altar is dedicated to loved ones who have passed away (and sometimes celebrities who have also passed away) and it has staples including marigolds, pictures of the loved ones, pan de muerto, a glass of water and candles. ![]() One of the most important factors for celebrating Day of the Dead is the altar. At under $18 dollars, the frames are definitely a steal. The pictures sit in between two panels of glass. I also came across a beautiful vase that I placed my marigolds in, a wooden cake stand that was the perfect size for the pan de muertos and really unique picture frames that are see through. My favorite finds include a gorgeous bronze tray where I set up Ferrero Roche chocolates and the best smelling candle. Of course, I needed a few things to get it started so I headed to Target and picked up some great accessories that I will be able to reuse after the holiday has passed. I opted for the same color scheme in our altar. There’s beige, gold, bronze, light blue and cream colors everywhere. This is why my home décor is on the calm side. And because I work from home, it’s important for me to have a calming environment. It starts with the kids and ends with working from home throughout the day. Like most parents, I have a very stressful day-to-day because of everything that has to be done. This year, I wanted to do something different for our Day of the Dead altar. Now that my boys are eight and five years old, they actually looked forward to celebrating these cultural holidays, and I feel great because I know I’m fulfilling my goal. It’s also why we celebrate Dia de los Reyes, have a ton of Mexican food and the kids study at a dual-immersion school in Spanish. It’s important because my kids will one day have their kids and I don’t want our culture dying with them. ![]() In fact, I only came across it as an adult and I was fascinated by the idea of celebrating a life instead of mourning it that I knew that it would be something that I would pass on to my children once they came into our lives.Īs a first generation Mexican-American mom, it’s important for me to pass on traditions and celebrations of holidays, even if I never had experience with them growing up. It’s a holiday that I’ve passed down to my kids, even though I myself didn’t celebrate it growing up. Dia de los Muertos is a bittersweet holiday that my family and I celebrate year after year.
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