Comida de los Muertos

In a previous blog post, I mentioned Dia de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, a well-known Mexican holiday. Now that this holiday is quickly approaching, I wanted to do more research and learn more about this thought-provoking holiday, and the symbolic significance of the food that is involved with it.

Anyone that is vaguely familiar with Mexican culture ordinarily knows that on November 1st, the lives of deceased children are celebrated and remembered, and on November 2nd, the Mexican people remember their adult friends and family members that are no longer with them.What many do not understand is the importance of the food that is made to celebrate the lives of those that have past.

The Mexican people hold beliefs that their late loved ones visit the Earth in spiritual form during this celebration. They create altars for their deceased friends and family members, and on these altars there are ofrendas, or offerings, for the loved one’s spirit when it travels back to the living world.

These offerings mainly consist of items for the spirit to clean up with after its journey, but the most popular food offering is sugar skulls. These are candy skulls that are decorated and left on the altar for the spirit. Sometimes they are eaten, but it is much more common for these sugar skulls to be preserved for the dead. The sugar skulls represent the vitality of life and individual personality.

Pan de Muerto, or the bread of the dead, is a sugary bread that is enjoyed by the living on the Day of the Dead, and often placed on altars. It is baked, glazed, and decorated with colored sugar. The bread symbolizes the souls of the departed, and is sometime baked in the shape of a skull. It is offered as nourishment for the spirits that come to visit the living world and are hungry after their journey.

Atole is a warm drink that is somewhat comparable to American oatmeal. It is made with corn flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Some even prefer to add fruit to their atole. It is favorable drink in many cultures all year-round such as Mexican (of course), Guatemalan, Honduran, and Salvadoran, but on the Day of the Dead, it is used specifically to nourish and warm the spirits when they come to the living world, and return once again to the “other side.”

Candied pumpkin is another delicious treat placed on alters during the Day of the Dead. Pumpkin is cooked in brown sugar cane syrup, and then sweetened with cinnamon sticks and oranges. I wish I could explain a cool symbolic meaning behind this particular food, but unfortunately, they are only used on the Day of the Dead altars because they taste really great.

In conclusion, I personally find this particular holiday and the foods associated with it very compelling. The idea of celebrating the life of a deceased friend or family member rather than mourning him or her puts a positive spin on the idea of death, and the foods that hold symbolic meaning demonstrate the important traditions that define this holiday.

 

3 Comments on Comida de los Muertos

  1. kvl5406
    November 6, 2015 at 3:12 pm (8 years ago)

    This is so interesting! I’ve known some things about Dia de los Muertos, but I never actually knew any specifics and specifically not about the food of the celebration. All these foods sound so good, especially candied pumpkin. I also like how the sugar skulls are meant to be offerings that represent things about the deceased.

  2. mgc5166
    November 6, 2015 at 12:17 pm (8 years ago)

    I didn’t know much about Dia de os Muertos before reading this, and I find it very interesting that their premiere day of celebration is in remembrance of the children that have passed. I guess that’s why they focus so much on sweets with the celebratory food. Personally, I think I’d like to try pan de muerto the most.

  3. aft5105
    November 2, 2015 at 7:30 pm (8 years ago)

    I love how certain foods are vital to a culture. That culture’s holiday would not be the same without the foods. I especially love the sound of all the sugared treats!! The reasoning behind on the drinks and food is thought provoking. Food can really hold so much meaning for a country. Like people associate Germany with beer and bread and France with baguettes. I love it!

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