DIA DE LOS MUERTOS

Also called "All Souls Day" or "Day of the Dead." The following article is taken from Belize Magazine.

"The local traditions for honoring the dead are held on the first days and nights of November. All Saints Day, on November 1st, is for the small children who have died before committing any sins, and All Souls Day, November 2nd, is for all who have died. In a blend of Maya, Mestizo and Christian beliefs, the house is cleaned as for an important visitor and a table is set with all the finest dishes. Traditional foods are set out, including ixpasha, a sour porridge made of blue corn, mashed and slightly fermented. Bolos are another specialty. They are similar to tamales, made of masa (ground corn), col (a sauce made with recardo) and a meat filling, all wrapped in banana leaves then steamed to perfection.

Candles are lit and the beautifully laid table is left for the family's ancestral spirits to enjoy. When the food has cooled, the spirits have partaken and the living then may eat.

On the night of November 2nd, candlelight processions lead to the burial ground and candles are lit on family graves and eft to burn through the night. The graves are cleaned and adorned with flowers. Banana leaves are spread atop the tombs and food is left on the graves to feed the departed. Instead of pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns, giant grapefruits called cidra are hollowed out and candles placed inside. These traditions vary from one part of Belize to another, but on the whole they seem to be fading. Many youths say they remember their grandmothers taking great care and time with these rituals but now the beliefs are not as strong."


Geoff and I believe it would be a real loss to forget about the people close to you who have passed on, and may even adopt this Belizean tradition in our own home in Canada.