Connecting Objects to Passed Loved Ones

We tend to use objects left behind to help us remember and cherish our past loved ones, whether that be lessons we’ve learned from them or just simply good memories we have with them. By connecting them to certain objects in our life it can help us grieve and move on as well as pass down our good memories of them to the next line of generations, like our kids and their kids and so on.

Understanding and learning the importance of why people keep and cherish things from their past loved ones helps those who are grieving and wish to maintain a connection. This also allows us to empathize and connect with those still with us using memories and momentums of those who have passed. Through other cultures, we can learn and join the celebration of not only the dead but how to cherish the physical objects that we have of them. I will be exploring and defining ways that other cultures, but mostly focusing on Mexican culture, like to memorialize and stay connected with their deceased loved ones.

Remembering our loved ones is always important even if you don’t have something of physical value to them. Most of the common things that people tend to cherish or connect back to those loved ones are pictures, jewelry, toys that were gifted as well as clothes. In some cultures, more specifically Mexican culture, making art to represent your loved ones is one way of connecting physically with them. This is more famously known through Day Of the Dead.

There is also throughout the republic an enormous variety of skeleton toys of all sizes and plastic materials, with the skeleton displayed as naked or clothed, holding a recognizable object like a pipe or musical instrument, and usually giving some indication of age, gender, occupation, and the like.

By doing this you are connecting with your loved ones, past and present, because you come together to make these or decorate these skeleton toys and remember those that have passed.

Skeletons are a huge part of this celebration. They take many forms and are used in many ways. “The ubiquitous presence of skulls, skeletons, and the like is a supreme manifestation of the enormous difference between Mexican and Western attitudes toward death.” In more Western cultures, like North America, skeletons are viewed as scary and used during Halloween to scare children. In comparison to South America, including Mexico, it is used to show death in a beautiful way and children aren’t scared of them but rather tend to embrace them and their meaning. The skeletons are also used to help teach them about their past loved ones.

“One of the most distinctive features of the Day of the Dead, the so-called ofrenda, or offering, consists of breads, candies, and other foods which are placed on the graves of deceased relatives and used to adorn home altars prepared specially for the occasion.” The ofrenda is a huge part of this celebration. An ofrenda can be described as an altar that is decorated specifically for this holiday. As said altar, it is important to put the favorite food of your loved ones. This is done to have that connection of them still being there and watching over. It is a way to invite them back to your home. By putting their favorite food on the ofrenda it helps us connect with them and helps the younger generations learn more about them. Food is an important part of not only this celebration but the culture as well.

The spirits of the departed are said to enjoy the essence of the food. Pan de Muerto, a sweet bread, is a must-have item on these altars. Ofrendas often mix sweet and savory foods. They may include mole, tamales, and pozole as main dishes. For drinks, Mexican hot chocolate or atole are common. Desserts like sugar skulls and candied pumpkin add a festive touch. These food offerings honor the dead and keep their memory alive.

Even though this holiday is focused on the more spiritual aspect, there is also a huge religious part as well. Even though this celebration is more widely known as the Day of The Dead, it also holds many other titles. One of the names this day goes by is All Souls Day. “Attending Mass, having a special family meal, lighting candles for the departed, and making small home shrines for All Souls’ Day were practices familiar to most Mexican American Catholics.” In a way, this goes to show how much this celebration has evolved because, during this day, the families would go to the cemetery and help each other clean and prepare for their loved ones while also decorating their shrines and graves with all of the things that they liked. Some of the things that are done now, were not done in earlier times. “These customs resembled the grave decorating customs of other Catholic ethnic groups and did not include Indigenous practices of southern Mexico, such as making harvest-laden ofrendas or burning copal incense.” This just goes to show that this holiday/celebration can and will continue to grow and help people find a way to get connected to their loved ones.

Although this is a Mexican-originated holiday, this does not restrict other people from celebrating as we are all looking for a way to keep our loved ones close to us. In fact, many other cultures celebrate too using different names but using the same form of celebration. This holiday is for everyone and this is also a great way to help bring together many communities and many people who are just looking for that connection with their passed loved ones.

References

Brandes, S. (1997). Sugar, Colonialism, and Death: On the Origins of Mexico’s Day of the Dead. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 39(2), 270–299. http://www.jstor.org/stable/179316

Brandes, S. (1998). Iconography in Mexico’s Day of the Dead: Origins and Meaning. Ethnohistory, 45(2), 181–218. https://doi.org/10.2307/483058

Marchi, Regina M. “Day of the Dead in the United States.” Day of the Dead in the USA: The Migration and Transformation of a Cultural Phenomenon, Rutgers University Press, 2009, pp. 34–55. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5hj96w.8. Accessed 8 Dec. 2024.

Diniz, R. (2024, October 1). Day Of The Dead Food: A Traditional Día De Los Muertos Feast. Day of the dead food: A traditional Día de los Muertos Feast. https://northshoretacos.com/news/food/dia-de-los-muertos#:~:text=Food%20is%20an%20important%20part,the%20essence%20of%20the%20food.