 |
| Kiriko Moth |
Dia de los Muertos
By Kourtney Leaf
I love this time of year. The crispness in the air, the way the light filters in differently, the beautiful colors of autumn. But what I really and truly love about this time of year is that you get to welcome home your loved ones. Samhain isn't like any other normal holiday where you get the family together for a big meal and somewhat interesting conversation… Nope. You get to invite those that you haven’t seen since… well… since they left this world behind. Your dearly departed grandmother, your great aunt and that branch of the family tree you’re most proud of; be it Jesse James or Abe Lincoln.
I love this time of year. The crispness in the air, the way the light filters in differently, the beautiful colors of autumn. But what I really and truly love about this time of year is that you get to welcome home your loved ones. Samhain isn't like any other normal holiday where you get the family together for a big meal and somewhat interesting conversation… Nope. You get to invite those that you haven’t seen since… well… since they left this world behind. Your dearly departed grandmother, your great aunt and that branch of the family tree you’re most proud of; be it Jesse James or Abe Lincoln.
Don’t get the wrong idea though… they’re not going to be
hauling around chains or be cloaked in your best linens. And unless you have a
special talent… you’re not going to actually see them sitting at the dinner
table, looking at their dinner plate and wondering what the hell they are supposed
to do with that. Chances are you probably won’t notice them at all.
It’s remembering them that is important though. So instead
of rehashing grandpa’s last trip to the doctor, or hearing about your brother’s
workplace drama, take the time to remember. Tell stories and pull out pictures.
Allow yourself to laugh at old memories, even let a few tears through.
And it’s because this is the time of year where the veil
between this world and the next is the thinnest, that it’s a great time to
actually reach out and contact those loved ones. I use Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead
celebrations, as a sort of guide for my celebrations. It’s primarily a Spanish
holiday that shows respect to the dead. It’s extremely festive and very much
full of love. It takes place November 1st and 2nd to coincide with the Catholic
holidays of All Saints’ Day and All Soul’s Day.
My family actually begins the festivities on Samhain night
though. We have a Silent Supper to invite Spirits to our home and to show our
love and respect for them. Patti Wigington over at About.com has a wonderful
explanation of a Silent Supper. But with two children in residence, we aren't able to follow the rules of a Silent Supper to a T. We do however, incorporate
several elements. We aren't silent the whole time, usually just dessert. We
don’t have a candle for each spirit, we light one for all. I do smudge before
the dinner takes place, but I don’t typically cast a circle. I set a plate for
Spirit, but I don’t actually serve them. I do burn our notes before we begin
dessert, but there isn't a full on prayer. But the idea is the same, and I
don’t think the Spirits really mind.
I also set up a Dead Altar in memory of my departed loved
ones. It includes several elements like pictures of the departed, incense to
guide them home, flowers to remind us how fragile life is, a glass of water to
represent purity and to satisfy their thirst (though sometimes I wonder if a
shot of whiskey or tequila would be better suited!). I also include two candles,
one for those who have passed and one for the lost soul which can also
represent faith and hope. The purpose of
the altar is to guide those who have crossed the veil back home. I usually have
it up the entire month of October and through the first of November. As a
family we take a few moments to reflect on our time with our departed loved
ones, we may say a few words, share a few memories, and maybe burn a few more
thoughts or prayers before breaking it down on the second.
Plus, I love the sugar skulls and I can’t write about Dia de
los Muertos without including this amazing imagery. Sugar skulls are the skulls
embellished with flowers, spiderwebs, hearts or swirls. They began as sugary
sweets you could use to adorn your altar with. They have morphed into something
so much more though. The image of the sugar skull has become a representation
of the Day of the Dead and really has become more art than candy. I love the
images of people decked out with their faces painted, the skulls that are
adorned with the bright flowers and beautiful colors. For me it is a beautiful
thing to accept death, to respect it, so readily that you can see it so full of
life.
Samhain, or Dia de los Muertos, is a holy day that lives
deep within my heart. It is by far the most important Sabbat for me. It’s
rather selfish of me to hate that I've lost so many people that I love. Maybe
I’m just a little jealous that they are in a place of perfect peace, and we
can’t so much as visit. So it’s an amazing thing, an amazing experience to have
them visit us. I won’t ever take that for granted.
Our giveaway comes from Deb Garnett of Twysted Thystle
Included is: 1 Cinnamon Skin Sugar Scrub, 1 Cinnamon Skin Body Oil, and 1 Cinnamon Lip Balm.
1 fine paintbrush
Today's Giveaway:
Included is: 1 Cinnamon Skin Sugar Scrub, 1 Cinnamon Skin Body Oil, and 1 Cinnamon Lip Balm.
Remember:
Your first entry is to follow us here. (Make sure you comment and tell us that you're following)
Also remember that each entry must be separate to count.
Bonus entries:
Go visit Twysted Thystle, come back and tell us which product you like best on the page.
Blog about this giveaway. Come back and share the link to your blog post.
Tweet about this giveaway. Come back and share the link to your tweet.
Like Samhain's Sirens on Facebook (post a comment that you did)
Follow us on Twitter (post a comment that you did)
If you already like/follow us on either or both, just post comments that you've already done so.
You have until 8pm EDT Tuesday evening (October 30) to enter this giveaway. Winner will be announced on Wednesday :) Good luck!
Today's Recipe: Sugar Skulls for Dia De Los Muertos
Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg white
1 Tbs. corn syrup
1/2 Tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup cornstarch
food coloring
Directions:
Sift powdered sugar.
Mix the egg white, corn syrup, and vanilla in a clean bowl
without a trace of grease.
Add the powdered sugar with a wooden spoon. When almost
completely mixed, start kneading with the tip of your fingers until you can
form a small ball.
Dust with cornstarch on board.
Keep on kneading until smooth
Put dough into a plastic bag and chill. It can be left there
for several months. Mold into skulls.
Paint the figures when they are dry. You can use colored
icing.
Today's Craft: Pasta Skeleton Craft
Supplies:
A few different types of pasta and dried beans, like
spaghetti, macaroni, tiny tube pasta, long tube pasta, wagon wheels, long
spirals, tiny shells, wagon wheels
A piece of black construction paper
White glue
A white crayon to write your name (or label the bones)
Glue the pasta to the black paper using white glue. Have the
kids arrange the pasta on the paper before gluing (to make sure that they have
room for the whole body on the piece of paper).
You can use just about any type of pasta (or dried beans)
for the bones. A wagon wheel is nice for the head. Spaghetti makes good fingers
and toes. Tiny tubes or dried lentils are good as vertebrae in the spine. Long
tubes make collar bones. Longer tubes or long spirals make good arm and leg bones.
Small shells or dried white beans are nice for the kneecaps, wrists and ankles.
Two dried lima beans make good hips.
(craft courtesy of Enchanted Learning.com)
And the Winners Are....
October 25- Saga's Cottage "The Thinning Veil" Print: Jonquil Alexa (petoskystone)
October 26- Eliora's Charm Giveaway- Amanda Morris
October 27- Sosanna's Craftacular Crystal Spider Giveaway- Loren Morris
Congratulations to our winners!! Please be sure to send in your shipping information to samhainsirens@gmail.com so we can get your prizes to you! (note: Due to Hurricane Sandy, some shipping may be delayed. Bear with us.)
Song of the Week with Kestril Trueseeker
We’re
down to the last few songs and really the only common thread among them is I
really, really love the hell out of them and couldn’t imagine a Halloween
playlist without them. The first is a classic from 1976, Blue Oyster Cult’s
Don’t Fear the Reaper:
There will be a special musical treat for all of you Siren-followers after the season is over. Stay tuned to find out more.
Have a Maniacal Monday, and we'll see you tomorrow for more Samhain fun!
Day 29 ~ Dia de los Muertos
by
Vickie
on
8:30 AM
Kiriko Moth Happy Monday, everyone! This is the last week of our Samhain's Sirens Extravaganza and we're kicking it off with a g...
