Honoring the Dearly Departed- an ofrenda for Celebration of Life

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Honor our Dearly Departed: If there’s someone you would like to remember this Dia de los Muertos holiday, please bring a copy of a picture or holy card to add to our small ofrenda.

Celebration of Life: Ofrendas… Ofrendas are an essential part of Dia de los Muertos celebrations. The word ofrenda means “offering” in Spanish. They are also called altares or altars, but they are not for worshiping. (The vast majority of Mexicans are Christian Catholics.) Ofrendas are set up to remember and honor the memory of ancestors and the dearly departed. 

Celebration of Dia de los Muertos or “Day of the Dead” is not linked to a cult, or the occult. It is a Catholic Christian ritual intermixed with Latin folk culture. It is not a sad ritual- it’s a day of happiness, a day of remembering our loved ones. The Day of the Dead doesn’t honor death itself, but memories of our relatives who have passed away… Celebrating Dia de los Muertos is about Love!  (text adjusted from inside-mexico.com)

Ofrendas can be quite elaborate to honor specific family-members or loved ones who have passed on. An Ofrenda can be a table or little niche set up with a lovely tablecloth or fabric, decorated with holy candles and crosses, pictures of saints- and then lots and lots of extras! Personalized touches remember the dearly departed. Brightly colored flowers and fragrant orange marigolds are brought in to heavily decorate ofrendas as marigolds attract the spirits home with their bold orange color and fragrance. Food is specially prepared for the souls, who enjoy the aroma. Sugar skulls may include the names of loved ones. 

Sanctuary in honor of the dead in vibrant colors, with shades of yellow and blue, to celebrate the day of the dead in Mexico. Perhaps the most serious emblem of the holiday is the Offrenda, an altar honoring the dead. Offrendas are most often created in honor of one’s ancestors or loved ones, and contain a number of traditional elements, many drawn from indigenous Mexican traditions: Crosses and other religious emblems, including statuettes of saints. Water, sacred to indigenous pre-Columbian cultures, and a symbol of baptism and new life in the Catholic church. Salt, a preservative and purifying agent. Copal, a native incense used by the Aztecs. Candles, whose light guides the dead. Flowers, particularly the Cempazúchitl, or flower of the dead- the marigold, sacred to Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of the dead, they guide the spirits to their altars using their vibrant colors and scent, they also represent the fragility of life.

Ofrendas are beautiful- interesting, detailed, and full of color. See an idea of an ofrenda here…

Traditional mexican Day of the dead altar with pan de muerto and candles

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