Its not about being gross, morbid or scary. Its a happy time to celebrate and the lives our dearly departed had when they were here with us. Familes spend about two weeks preparing for the holiday. They travel to the cemetary to spruce it up for the special night. They decorate offrendas (altars) to honor their loved ones...some are simple and some are extremely elaborate. The offrenda is filled with favorite things/food of the loved one. There are special foods and candies made for the holiday...and even a parade! The holiday itself is on November 1 & 2, in conjunction with All Saints Day and All Souls day.
As I am looking around the house, I am going to find the perfect spot for a small, simple offrenda for Nora. She was always so excited when I shared school stuff with her. I teach Days of the Dead in my classroom and I ordered some authentic decorations (including a sugar skull) from Mexico not too long before Nora died. When I unpacked the box, she was just as excited as I was to see everything. And I know some might think it a little strange that even though I have no Hispanic heritage in imediate family, I chose to celebrate this holiday...but, I know that Nora would be okay with it.
Here are some pictures of what I have done so far. The table cloth and curtains are made from fabric I got at Ella Rose in Cleveland.
The apron was a gift from Lauren for Christmas last year. One of the main decorations for Days of the Dead is skeletons (which, if you know me...you know I have a minor obesssion with skulls & skeletons). They make many sizes of brightly decorated sugar skulls to sell as treats...they are made like the sugar Easter Eggs...just in the shape of a skull. The large skull on the table is a cookie jar I got last year from The Crafty Chica. And check out the close up of the fabric. How can you not be happy looking at those smiling faces?
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