Day of the Dead - El dia de los muertos

Today is the "official" (at least for me) day to celebrate The Day of the Dead. I created my first Day of the Dead altar in November of 2003, adding another item or two every year. I've come to love the motif, I have tiles in the bathroom and even splurged on a plate by Chris Bubany (gorgeous!) Candles and marigolds and celebration of lost love ones. This year I've added a couple of memories of my friend Linda Shipley, who died last January.

What is the Day of the Dead? Briefly, it is a three-day Mexixcan tradition that celebrates, honors, and "welcomes home" the spirits of loved ones who have died (or, as so many of my Jewish friends say, "passed"). Altars are created - and decorated gorgeously - in homes and in public places. Favorite foods, mementoes, marigolds, candles. In Mexico, families prepare picnics and, carrying candles, join their neighbors to walk to the graveyards which have been cleaned and decorated. Here, they welcome the spirits of their departed loved ones.

In an hour or two I will pack a picnic of deviled eggs, meatloaf sandwiches, green olives and eclairs. I'll drive the loop at Saguaro National Park East, where Steve loved to run. I'll stop and take photos. I'll pull into the picnic area to eat and read a newish Robert B. Parker "Spenser" novel. I've got a mix with Joan Baez, George Thorougood, Davide Mallett, Greg Brown, Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan to listen to. I will not be sad, I will celebrate Steve's life and the time we were lucky enough to have together.

I remember seeing an altar about ten years ago at the College of Atlantic In Bar Harbor. It was intriguing, and the first time I'd ever heard of the celebration. But now, living in Tucson, altars are everywhere. At the library, at the UN Center, the Botanical Gardens and in many shops. In my home. Elaborate, simple, a remembrance of loved ones gone.

There are lots of books (I always gravitate to the books for KIDS) on El dia de los muertos that I like:

Day of the Dead - Tony Johnson/Jeanette Winter
Day of the Dead - Linda Lowery/BArbara Knutson (an early, easy reader)
Days of the Dead - Kathryn Lasky/Christopher G. Knight
Calavera Abecedario - Jeanette Winter

Memories and love today. Lots of it.

Steve Graves
Brandon Baughman
Linda Shipley
David Kettunen
Myrtle and Edgar Eklund