Last week the students in HIST 336: Topics in Latin American History – History of Mexico and HIST 135: Intro to Latin American History set up an ofrenda (commonly translated as altar) for Día de los Muertos in the Munroe Hall Lobby. Now heavily commercialized, Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday blending indigenous beliefs and practices with the Catholic celebrations of November 1 and 2 (All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day). Pre-Hispanic cultures believe that the souls of the dead travel from the underworld to their gravesite or altar once each year on the night of November 1. To entice them to make the trip, family and loved ones collect favorite items and place photographs on the altar for the brief reunion.
As in previous years, the entire UD community is welcome to participate by placing a memento (photograph, object, etc.) of a deceased loved one on the altar in Munroe Hall. Students have already placed mementos honoring children who have died in Gaza these past two years and Ukrainian soldiers, among others. The ofrenda will be broken down on November 4th.