The Spanish phrase Día de los Muertos translates to ‘Day of the Dead’ in English. It’s a time of celebration, traditionally for people in Mexico and Central America, plus Mexican Americans in the US. The celebrations honour the lives of the dearly departed. The holiday is usually held between the 31st of October and 2nd of November with attendees typically dressing up in colourful skeleton or calaveras outfits, with face paints and props.
A common mistaken belief is that the Day of the Dead is the Mexican equivalent of Halloween. This is incorrect and a form of cultural appropriation. If you’d like to honour Día de los Muertos with your children in an authentic and respectful way, read on for some fun ideas.
Ways to Celebrate Día de los Muertos with Children
To avoid cultural appropriation, it’s best to stick to traditional activities that aren’t tainted by modern-day marketing. Here are two authentic activities you can do with your little ones:
1. Make an ofrenda
This translates to ‘altar’ in English. It’s essentially a shrine for someone who has passed away. According to dayofthedead.holiday: ‘A typical ofrenda consists of a set of items that will identify the person to whom it is dedicated along with staples of the celebration such a pan de muerto, a traditional sugary pastry adorned with bone and skull shapes made from the same bread, and marigold petals. The items that identify the person will include photographs, personal items that belonged to them, but can also include food other than the traditional one which the person in question particularly enjoyed. They will most commonly be built on a table which will be adorned with a tablecloth and china paper cut in patterns.’
You and your children could create something similar for late grandparents and celebrate their lives rather than mourn them. Have fun decorating the altar with candles, flowers, photographs and perhaps bake or cook some of their favourite food.
2. Do sugar skull face painting
One for kids aged approximately three years and above, painting each other’s faces to look like a calaveras will provide hours of fun. Here’s a step-by-step guide on what you need and how to do Day of the Dead face paint:
Materials:
- Makeup sponge and a fine brush
- Black, white and red face paint
- Black eyeliner
Instructions:
- Clip back any hair away from the face or push it back with a hairband.
- Using the sponge, apply white face paint all over the face – be careful around the eye area.
- Sketch two circles around the eyes with the black eyeliner.
- Fill them in with the sponge and black face paint.
- Paint a black triangle/upside-down heart shape on the tip of the nose.
- Apply black paint to the lips and then draw vertical lines across the lip area and extend out towards the cheeks.
- Use the red and black paint to decorate the eye circles with curlicues – along with more swirly details on the cheeks and forehead. You can add more colours if you wish.
Remember, keep Day of the Dead as a happy and celebratory activity for your kids. Try not to be morbid or sad in front of them. The event is nothing like Halloween – it’s not meant to be scary or spooky. As a Twitter post from @latimes said: ‘Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, which runs Oct. 31 through Nov. 2, has nothing to do with Halloween. Nada.’