“Dia De Muertos”

The 2nd annual Day of the Dead Celebration will be held at the Shatford Centre in Penticton, from October 29 to November 6, 2016.

The Day of the Dead is a special day in Mexico, and the ancient rituals are an important part of the celebration carrying a special meaning and purpose; to lovingly remember ancestors, honor their memory, and commemorate their lives. By doing this, life is given meaning and human existence is given continuity beyond the material world.

This year, the celebration will include a Collaborative Altar Art installation featuring the Ripoff Artists, the Sagebrushers group, the Canwax West group, and the 557 Artist Block;  one ancestral altar;  a slide show;  music, food and drinks; art show by norberto rodriguez presenting a brief history of Dia de Muertos; sugar skull face painting; creative stations to learn  sugar skulls painting, pierced paper and more.

Come with your family to see, learn about, have fun, taste and experience this unique tradition at the Shatford Centre on Saturday, Opening Saturday October 29th 1:00 – 5:00 pm. Continuing until November 6 at the regular hours of 9 am to 5 pm.

From Wikipedia:

Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the United States. It is acknowledged internationally in many other cultures. The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey.

The holiday is sometimes called Día de los Muertos in Anglophone countries, a back-translation of its original name, Día de Muertos. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico where the day is a public holiday. Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. Gradually it was associated with October 31, November 1 and November 2 to coincide with the Western Christian triduum of Allhallowtide: All Saints’ Eve (Oct 31), All Saints’ Day (Nov 1), and All Souls’ Day (Nov 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed within other deep traditions for honoring the dead. It has become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational purposes) in the nation’s schools. Many families celebrate a traditional “All Saints’ Day” associated with the Catholic Church.

Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was unknown until the 20th century because its indigenous people had different traditions. The people and the church rejected it as a day related to syncretizing pagan elements with Catholic Christianity. They held the traditional ‘All Saints’ Day’ in the same way as other Christians in the world. There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and relatively few indigenous inhabitants from the regions of Southern Mexico, where the holiday was celebrated. In the early 21st century in northern Mexico, Día de Muertos is observed because the Mexican government made it a national holiday based on educational policies from the 1960s; it has introduced this holiday as a unifying national tradition based on indigenous traditions.

The Mexican Day of the Dead celebration is similar to other culture’s observances of a time to honor the dead. The Spanish tradition included festivals and parades, as well as gatherings of families at cemeteries to pray for their deceased loved ones at the end of the day.