I did not get a new ofrenda made this year, but this one is always in a place of honor in our home. I originally made it to remember my dear friend Tom. I think he likes it. He's never come back to tell me he doesn't & he has visited me to tell me he hates one of my lamps...decorating advice from the Beyond.
Growing up in WASP headquarters in Parma, OH, I had never heard of Dia de los Muertos. Death was a very very sad occasion...mourned and commemorated by weekly visits with my parents to my Grandma's grave. My Mom was always so very sad, standing there crying at her Mom's grave. I never got it...I didn't need to go to the gravesite to remember my dear Grandma.
I much prefer the Mexican culture's view of death. Death is a part of life. It is inevitible. And rather than mourn lives of loved ones who have moved on, their lives should be celebrated & remembered.
"Life and death are not contrary worlds. We are a single stem with two twin flowers."
~ Juan Rulfo
What a lovely ofrenda - of course Tom likes it!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you - death is a part of life and we should remember those who've gone ahead with joy and love instead of grief.