¡Feliz Dia De Muertos!

For  Americans, October 31st comes with skeletons, scary costumes, and happy dentists. In Mexico and other Spanish-speaking countries, however, October 31st has a whole different meaning. With the end of October comes the start of preparations for the wonderful and iconic tradition of “Día De Los Muertos”, or as English speakers call it, the Day of the Dead.

La Día De Los Muertos is the Hispanic tradition that celebrates the return of a family’s dead ancestors to the realm of the living, where they are remembered and commemorated through traditions such as the creation of the iconic “ofrendas” which means altars to the dead, which contain various photos of the family and numerous offerings such as “pan de la muerte” which is bread for the deceased, “cempasuchíl” which are marigolds, and as morbid as it sounds, and “calaveras de azucar”, literally defined as skulls made out of sugar. Numerous students study and celebrate this tradition, but none more so than the students of the National Spanish Honor Society. A member of the National Spanish Honor Society, Adam Mikhaelian (10) said, “It’s more of a celebration of the day, not so much being saddened by their absence. It’s a happy tradition.”

Member of the club Luke Chung said, “Last week the [Spanish National Honor Society] hosted a Day of The Dead celebration, and it was a really fun time to learn about the day, do fun activities and stuff like that.”

Pine Creek is leaning into this tradition as well, with the introduction of a large ofrenda in the library, and various Day of the Dead-related activities to do.

Even for non-Hispanics, the day brings ideas of celebration and joy.  It brings a welcome sense of togetherness to the school. President of the Spanish Honors Society Diego Sauceda said, “It’s a time of community, to get people together to look back and celebrate the life that you’re living.”