¡Feliz Dia de los Muertos!

Hi this is Leslie Harris, and to many people, it seems weird to celebrate the dead, but that’s exactly what people in Mexico do. Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a public holiday, but it’s a festive occasion. It’s a way of remembering loved ones who have passed, but remembering the good things the joy and happiness that those people brought. Even children are encouraged to make altars to invite angelitos, or the spirits of dead children, to come to visit.

This is actually a 3 day festival, starting with Halloween. Today, November 1st, the adult spirits visit, and tomorrow, November 2nd, is All Souls day and families go to cemeteries and decorate the graves of their loved ones. They use marigolds which is the flower of the dead, there’s also a special Day of the Dead bread, they make skulls of sugar, and skeletons and all sorts of wonderful decorations and foods.

So remember to celebrate your loved ones who have passed today, and ¡Feliz Dia de los Muertos!