Last year, due to Covid, BoвЂ™s Place support groups met online but the staff still wanted to create a community ofrenda so they asked families to send a photo of their lost loved one. Nonprofit BoвЂ™s Place, which supports families with grief,В created this ofrenda (displayed at a past MECA exhibit) to honorВ loved ones. The tradition of making ofrendas brings healing and comfort for many.ДЇor the last decade, Spanish teacher Beth OвЂ™Neal has assigned her sixth and seventh graders a project to create a shoebox ofrenda for DГa de los Muertos. Ofrendas can include a variety of items such as photos, candles, sugar skulls, marigold flowers, papel picado (a traditional Mexican craft made by cutting elaborate designs into sheets of tissue paper) pan de muertos (a traditional Mexican sweet bread made during DГa de los Muertos), or objects that are reminders of their lives such as a favorite food and drink.

Ofrendas (вЂњofferingвЂќ in Spanish) are colorful altars that give relatives and friends a meaningful way to honor and remember loved ones. It may sound like a time of mourning and sadness, but it is actually a joyful celebration.ДЄ few weeks prior to DГa de los Muertos, many families start making ofrendas in their homes. The holiday, celebrated on the first and second of November, originated in Mexico. DГa de los Muertos, which means Day of the Dead in Spanish, is a time to remember loved ones who have died.

Building a dia de los muertos altar