Google Doodles are small drawings with a specific subject that appear above the Google search bar on your computer or in the Google search bar on your smartphone. With today’s Google Doodle we celebrate the Day of the Dead, or ‘Día de los Muertos’, in Mexico. You can find this Doodle on the Google Doodle site.
Megan van der Wagt
There is a Google Doodle almost every day, although they are not always near or in the Dutch Google search bars. You can find them on the Google Doodle site.
Anyone who knows Mexican culture or has seen the Disney film Coco is quite familiar with this: Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is celebrated from November 1 to 2 and it is a day for families to honor loved ones who have passed away. It is said that on this day the boundary between the spirit world and the living world momentarily ceases to exist, allowing souls of the dead to reunite with their families. It is believed that on November 1, the souls of children (angelitas) return to earth and those of adults on November 2. In many European countries (including Belgium, France, Italy and Spain), All Saints’ Day is celebrated on November 1, commemorating all the saints, and it is a national holiday in those countries. A day later it is All Souls’ Day and all the deceased are commemorated.
Día de los Muertos
To celebrate this, many Mexicans paint their faces with calaveras (skulls). Women wear colorful dresses or blouses and handmade flower crowns, while men dress in suits and hats. This Day of the Dead is actually a day of celebration and commemoration. The people who participate in this feel reunited with their deceased loved ones on these days. That’s why there’s real celebration on this day. They do everything they can to celebrate a big and loving party every year.
Preparations
People prepare for the festival all year round, collecting goods that they will offer to the dead. Around the time of Día de los Muertos, the graves of loved ones are cleaned and decorated. Fragrant orange petals of the Greater Marigold are also sprinkled. These bright orange flowers mark the path back to the living and attract souls with their fragrance and vibrancy.
Many families build altars in their homes: ofrendas. These are also decorated with petals. During these ofrendas, offerings are placed such as: candles, incense, flowers, fruit baskets, the favorite food of the deceased and a special type of bread made on this day called ‘pan de muerto’, which means bread of the dead. Toys and sweets are also added to the offerings on November 1, and for adults, liquor and cigarettes are placed on the altar on November 2. A glass of water can also be found at the ofrenda, because it is said that the journey to earth takes a lot of effort.
