Time Traveling and Day of the Dead

Okay, I know, I'm like way behind schedule posting. My problem has been that I'll start a post and not be able to finish it (normally because I find something interesting on Wikipedia or Yahoo! News) so this is what I'm going to do.

With this version of "time traveling" (strictly forward and linear - shucks) I'm just taking advantage of the fact that I started a post several days ago. I'll go ahead and finish the blog entries that I started and post them ASAP and hopefully I'll get caught up to the present! Right now it's November 12 but I'll finish this post for November 1 - Dia de los Muertos.

Day of the Dead...keeping the tradition alive

From Articulos en Yahoo!

Toys are brought to the cemeteries as offerings to deceased children and Tequila, Mescal and Pulque, traditional Mexican liquors, are common offerings left on the graves of adults.

My wife (born and raised in Mexico) finds it humorous when people are surprised that the offerings are gone the next morning. She told a group of our friends that all you have to do is hide and watch. A short while after dark you will see vagrants eating the food, drinking the liquor and taking the toys.

Some have said that it is very important to keep these traditions alive as part of Hispanic culture. I know this is not the most "PC" thing to say but personally, I find Dia de los Muertos creepy. I guess it is realistic in it's fatalism but it's still creepy.