Feliz día de los muertos!

Feliz día de los muertos: today is the festival of the dead 💀 🌺 in 🇲🇽 Mexico and my eldest daughter has been studying this in her art lessons. She asked me if we could make a shrine 🕯️ in the house and so we did- we included photos of our ancestors, family and pets who had passed away, their favourite treats and drinks, and bountiful fruit. We didn’t have any marigold flowers or ‘cempasuchil’ the flower of the dead 🌞 so I painted some with loads of tropical colours and life-affirming imagery on some miniature coffins ⚰️ I had bought (!) and then I decorated them with little silver votive ‘Milagros’ charms or prayer tokens. BTW just how random is it that there is a coffin emoji? ⚰️ Bizarre. I recently saw an undertakers in Edinburgh called ‘ You can go your own way’ 😂 which I thought was magnificent- you could get a coffin like a pint of beer or your favourite football team or just something very decorative. Another friend sent me photos of a similar one in London so they must be growing in popularity which is great. I’ve seen flatpack cardboard ones on Amazon so maybe I’ll scale up the painting - I know I’d want one with lemons and pineapples etc. 🍋 🍍 it’s very refreshing as for so long death has been a huge taboo in the UK and we’ve had a very Victorian/gothic approach, wearing all black and speaking in hushed tones. The Mexicans also have a very healthy approach to death- they see it as natural as day follows night- simply another part of life. The day of the dead is a time when families remember their loved ones and physically welcome them back into their homes. The day is party and a celebration of life. This time of year in the English folk calendar is ‘Samhain’ and also spiritually a time for remembering ancestors and also for new beginnings 🥂 🍻 Amen to that 🍻 🥂