Day of the Dead Vocabulary
On the first day of November, many people in Mexico will be remembering their beloved ones who have gone away. This day is called the day of the dead, or in Spanish día de los muertos. Actually, it is a two-day event. Therefore it is sometimes referred to as días de los muertos or fiestas de muertos as well. This day is celebrated in some other Latin American countries too, but it is a very big occasion expecially in Mexico.
On these days, altars are prepared at homes for the dead and special offerings are prepared for them. These offerings are called ofrendas in Spanish.
It is usual to prepare some specific foods and beverages as ofrendas on this special occasion. One of the most well-knowns is the sugar skulls:
1.calaveras de azúcar: sugar skulls
calavera means skull and azúcar is sugar. To make sugar skulls, a sugar mixture is prepared. This mixture is then pressed and left to drying. When the sugar skulls are dried, they are decorated with colorful icing, foil and feathers.
2.calabaza en tacha: candied pumpkin
Another popular ofrenda is candied pumpkins. In Spanish pumpkin is called (la) calabaza. It is a dessert prepared using pumpkink, cinnamon sticks and orange and piloncillo, which is a kind of unrefined sugar.
3.pan de muerto: bread of dead
(el) pan means bread in Spanish. Pan de muerto is a sweet bread prepared with anis seeds. It is placed on the altar during día de los muertos.
4.atole: cornflour drink
Atole is a hot drink which is based on masa.Cholatate, cinnamon, fruits can be used while preparing atole.
