On November 1 & 2  we will once again observe Día de los Muertos, “Day of the Dead” here at school.

In the Library and the Chapel you can enjoy the altares the Spanish 3 and Spanish Honors classes have done in memory of departed relatives and friends.

“El  Día de los Muertos” is the fusion of the Aztec belief in the afterlife and of the Christian belief of the possibility that a deceased person’s soul can return. When the cultures connected, the Aztec and Christian beliefs combined and the result was the present day celebration of the Day of the Dead.

The Aztecs believed that life is a dream and that in death one awakens. Death is not to be feared. It is simply the continuation of life. The practice of honoring the dead has been observed by the Mesoamericans for over 3,000 years.

The building of the altares is part of the pre-Hispanic Aztec culture.  “Dia de los Muertos” combines these native people’s belief that the spirits of the dead visit their relatives on Earth with the Catholic observance brought to Mexico in celebration of “All Saints Day”.

Today, throughout Latin America and the United States, we create altars to honor and remember the lives of the departed.

In building the altares the students have had the opportunity to get to know more about the lives of the deceased through interviewing relatives and friends and reviewing documents and photographs and videos. In most cases, members of the families have been involved in the project. Please visit our altares and honor the memory of those who have left but are not forgotten.