It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...

We have a lot of catching up to do.  Let's backtrack to last Thursday.

I took the Metrobus downtown, and everywhere it was obvious that the Day of the Dead was approaching.

At "La Ideal", a downtown bakery that is an institution, there were more than the usual wedding cakes in the window.  There was also an enormous "Día de Muertos" cake.

You can see how our Halloween symbols such as the jack o' lantern have mixed in with the Day of the Dead.

Stores and restaurants are decorated.  "La Ideal" was decked out with "papel picado"... the cut paper banners that are traditional for festive occasions.

A "catrina" and a "catrín", elegantly dressed skeletons, stood at the entrance to a sidewalk café. 

This restaurant went one better...  the employee at the door is dressed as a "catrín".

I headed to the Zócalo, the main plaza.  There workers were busy with the decorations... thousands of "papel picado" banners (although these outdoor decorations were made of plastic, not of paper.)

I went past a former colonial convent which now houses the Interactive Museum of Economics.  It never held any interest for me... of all the social studies classes that I took in college, economics was my least favorite.  However, there were signs advertising their Day of the Dead display.  So I went inside. 

The museum, although nicely laid out, was, as I had expected, rather boring for me.  I did not bother to see it all.  The Day of the Dead display was an "ofrenda", the altar-like offering which is set up in Mexican homes to welcome the souls of departed loved ones when they make their annual visit back to the world of the living.

Although the "ofrenda" was not especially spectacular, but it was interesting in that it explained the meaning behind each of the items that are traditionally set out on the altar.

For example, the candles guide the dead on their journey to visit their old home.
The marigold flowers, known as "cempasúchil" in the Aztec language, represent the sun, and their pungent smell also help to guide the souls on their visit.
Copal incense removes any negative energy so that the souls may enter.
Salt purifies the body, so that it will not get lost on its journey.
Fruit helps the souls to atone for their sins.
The "papel picado" decorations represent the air.
Favorite foods are set out for the visiting souls.
Squash candies are set out for the souls of departed children.
"Pan de muerto" (the traditional "Bread of the Dead") represents the human sacrifices in pre-Hispanic cultures.  Ewww... I'll try not to think of that the next time I eat "pan de muerto"!