Dia De Los Muertos

El Dia De Los Muertos or Day of The Dead is a traditional Mexican holiday celebrated in Mexico and by the Hispanic community all over the world.  The holiday focuses on friends and family coming together sometimes in a cemetery to pray and remember friends and family members who have died. Celebrations start on November 1, All Saints Day, some may say it’s technically October 31 at midnight and November 2, All Souls Day.

The belief is that people go to the cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed and build private altars including favorite foods and beverages, photos or special mementos of the departed. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and stories about their loved ones. Think of it as a celebration for the departed members to celebrate their life and not to mourn them. I do this every year in a different way here because my parents and other family members are buried in Puerto Rico. Celebrating our departed is a great way to keep them close to us.

A common symbol of the holiday is the skull or calavera which the folks will represent by wearing masks-calacas and foods such as sugar or chocolate skulls, which are inscribed with the name of the recipient on the forehead.  If you were in Los Angeles attending the festivities you would have been able to taste NESTLÉ® ABUELITA® hot chocolate and NESCAFE® Cafe De Olla coffee.

With today being the last day to celebrate, I took Buggy and our neighbor “Baby” out Trick or Treating again to one of the towns that rescheduled due to the hurricane. It was a lot colder tonight than it was a few days ago and we were freezing when we got back home.  To get warmed up I made us some hot chocolate which the girls loved. It’s chocolate and cinnamon flavor was just what we needed to hit the spot.

If you’re not a fan of hot chocolate then you should taste the NESCAFE® Cafe De Olla coffee. It’s an instant coffee blended with cinnamon and a touch of sugar. I’m not really a fan of instant because there isn’t much flavor to it but this is really good and it is perfect for that afternoon coffee when you just want a cup and you don’t need to turn the coffee pot on.

Stop by NESTLÉ® ABUELITA® ‘s facebook page to view some Dia De Los Muertos celebration pictures and don’t forget Like them while you are there and you can also follow them on Pinterest.

Disclosure: Disclosure: I received this product free of charge in order to share with my readers. I was not compensated in any other manner. All thoughts and opinions are mine.

Irene