Did you know el Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday that is celebrated November 1 and 2? If you are Catholic you may know that November 1 and 2 are All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. El Día de los Muertos is a mixture of these Catholic holidays with ancient Aztec traditions. Many people mistake el Día de los Muertos for Halloween but in fact it is more like our Memorial Day. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. I have a new colleague (partner in crime) that has been a fun addition to our foreign language department this year. In honor of el Día de los Muertos her Spanish IV class created this awesome ofrenda or altar in memory of John Lennon and we celebrated the day with a fiesta in our classes! This month has not been good on the diet! My students brought in all kinds of amazing, authentic dishes from around the world and of course I had to sample it all! One student brought in nopalitos and it was fun to watch the expressions and comments as each student tried a bit of cactus! It has been a great learning experience and has opened them up to new cultures and experiences! I am having a great year but I'm still ready for a break! I'm looking forward to my favorite holiday. . . Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 11, 2010
La Ofrenda
Did you know el Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday that is celebrated November 1 and 2? If you are Catholic you may know that November 1 and 2 are All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. El Día de los Muertos is a mixture of these Catholic holidays with ancient Aztec traditions. Many people mistake el Día de los Muertos for Halloween but in fact it is more like our Memorial Day. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. I have a new colleague (partner in crime) that has been a fun addition to our foreign language department this year. In honor of el Día de los Muertos her Spanish IV class created this awesome ofrenda or altar in memory of John Lennon and we celebrated the day with a fiesta in our classes! This month has not been good on the diet! My students brought in all kinds of amazing, authentic dishes from around the world and of course I had to sample it all! One student brought in nopalitos and it was fun to watch the expressions and comments as each student tried a bit of cactus! It has been a great learning experience and has opened them up to new cultures and experiences! I am having a great year but I'm still ready for a break! I'm looking forward to my favorite holiday. . . Thanksgiving!
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4 comments:
I did not know that! It sounds like ya'll had fun!
I was wondering yesterday how your healthy habits are going. Sounds like a very fun celebration.
Your classroom celebration sounds like so much fun. I would love to take your class! The John Lennon Memorial is very cool too!
Yes I've had Nopalitos- yuck- but that was a restaurant offering- maybe they taste better when made by a good home cook. GREAT altar. I was supposed to make a mini one myself- maybe I'll do so anyway.
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