Altars have offerings to the dead who come to visit from the afterlife. Much thought and care go into building an altar because you think about what your loved one enjoyed when they were in the land of the living.
Believe it or not, there’s a similar summer holiday in Japan known as O-bon (お盆), which is held in August.
During O-bon festivals, families visit the graves of their ancestors and pay their respects. There are dances and feasts too.
But the vibrant atmosphere of a Día de Muertos festival is not like the somber one of O-bon.
Even if you don’t celebrate these holidays, we can all agree that loss is something that humans experience. I hope this post will give you insight into a different way that a culture can mourn.
Here’s some simple vocabulary for you to discuss Día de Muertos the next time you bring it up to a Spanish or Japanese language speaker!
** Ion gone play that rōmaji mess. If you’re on your cell, get a kanji dictionary. If you’re on a laptop, get rikai-kun for Chrome and rikaichamp for Firefox.**
2 Comments
K E Garland
My mother died when I was 16. Like you, I think it would’ve been beneficial to have some type of continued ceremony/tradition.
Also, my sister keeps an altar in her home, right off the living room <3
Errol De Jesus
That’s wonderful that she keeps an altar! I had to take ours down because the baby kept climbing it lol
Losing a parent is hard and talking about it is too. But our loved ones live in our memories of them. They deserve to be honored in my opinion. Thank you for sharing!