Hayes Lavis, cultural arts curator for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, says that mourning was not allowed because it was believed the tears would make the spirit's path treacherous and slippery. That's where the food, drink and music offerings come in. Instead, the Aztecs celebrated their lives and welcomed the return of their spirits to the land of the living once a year. The Aztecs developed the ritual some 3,000 years ago because they believed one should not grieve the loss of a beloved ancestor who passed. It is also practice to visit the ancestral burial ground to celebrate with picnics and music. And read our story below to learn more about the food and drink of the Day of the Dead.Īltar: Altars are used to welcome the ancestors' spirits into the home. Watch our NPR Live video above to see Jinich's full cooking technique, part of our live cooking show, Passport Kitchen. To help us celebrate, we asked Mexican chef Pati Jinich to show us how to cook her favorite kind: chicken tamales in green salsa. There are hundreds and hundreds of types of tamales, which can come with sweet or savory fillings such as beef, pork, chicken or cheese. And food and drink are a big part of the festivities - they are ofrendas, or offerings, put on altars to entice deceased loved ones to come back for a visit.Īmong the most popular food offerings are tamales - delicious little packages of masa, or dough made from corn flour, wrapped in aromatic leaves, usually corn husks or banana leaves, and steam cooked. In Mexico, celebrations for el Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, are already in full swing.
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