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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.
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