Wednesday 1 November 2023

How to Make a Day of the Dead Altar at School

 The Day of the Dead in context

One of the most important festivals that is celebrated in the Hispanic World is the Day of the Dead. In some countries this is called All Saints Day and All Souls’ Day. It is celebrated to remember those who have passed away.

As part of the celebration, people visit the cemetery to clean graves of their loved ones and decorate their graves with flowers. Priests are also available to celebrate Masses and to offer special prayers for the dead.

The dates for the Day of the Dead are November 1st and 2nd. It is widely observed in Mexico to the point that in 2008 the UNESCO recognised its significance by adding the holiday to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

In Mexico, families create altars, also known as Ofrendas, in their houses with photos of deceased family members, some of their favourite things such as foods and drinks, flowers and lots of candles. Marigolds, Cempasúchil or caléndulas, are used during the festival as the vibrant colour and smell of the flowers guides the souls of loved ones to their altars so they can revisit their families in spirit. Marigold flowers are an icon of Mexico.

The most prominent symbols that are related to the Day of the Dead in Mexico are calacas or skeletons and calveras or skulls. Calavera Catrina has been adopted as one of the most recognisable icons for the Day of the Dead.

What to bear in mind when making an altar at school

  •  Ensure students are familiar with the celebration. They might have seen the film Coco and this will be a good starting point for discussion. You can also show them a short videoclip about the festival and ask them to do some research about the festival.  Most children get engaged with this as it involves lots of colourful decoration. This short videoclip can be used to introduce it. CLICK HERE
  • Write an email to the Headteacher to ask for permission to make it. As the festival has Christian links, some schools might not promote religious festivals due to the religious symbols they are involved.

 

  • Find a suitable place to make it. Schools are big places, however building an altar requires making space in the correct place. This can be a classroom, a hall, or the library.

 

  • Decide the size and make a plan to design it. It is important to visualise it once you have found a place. I am using Canva to produce these images for my planning. 


  • Identify resources to be used and write a list of what you need. Some resources can be made at the school such as paper flowers whereas other items can be bought to make things easier. If you are going to purchase some decoration, you will need to have a budget for this. I asked for £200 but have not spent all this amount.

 

  • Decide if the altar is going to honour one or more people. If students have lost family members recently, they might get upset so to avoid this, you can decorate the altar using pictures of famous people who have passed away. You can also build the altar for no one in particular so omitting photos is fine. These are some examples of historical figures that can be used. 

 

 

Plan a day to make it. Organise a group of students to help you build it and explain to them what you want to achieve.

 

 How to build the altar 

There are no rules when making a Day of the Dead Altar. You can build a simple one or a more sophisticated one if you have the time and resources. You can use your creativity with the time and materials you have available as there are no set guidelines to follow when decorating. As a guidance, I have utilised the following steps to build my own at my school.

 Step one

  •  Find a firm place upon which to make it. This can be a table, a shelf or any solid flat surface.

 

 Step two

  • Set up a table with different levels. The levels represent the underworld, earth, and heaven.  To achieve this effect, you can use boxes, craters or books.
  • Place a colourful tablecloth over the table and boxes to cover them.  

 

 Step three

  •  Place any "earthy" elements on the low level. The earth elements are represented by food, usually pan de muerto. You can also include fruits, chocolate, toys, sugar skulls, copal incense, sweets, seeds, grains and coloured sawdust.
  • Place offerings in the middle level.   
  • Create a representation of heaven on the higher levels. Here, you can place some photos. You can print pictures of British historical figures to decorate the altar or international famous people who have passed away. Also you can avoid photos by decorating this with other elements such as stars.

 

 Step four

  •  String up your papel picado over your altar and/or wrap decoration in front of the table.  This represents the wind.
  • Put some electric candles to decorate it. This represents fire and help the spirits to return.
  • In the copal, place some incense. This attracts the spirits and cleanse the area of an altar. If you do not have incense, you can replace this with leaves that produce a nice smell such as pine, eucalyptus, rosemary, etc. 
  • Put marigold flowers around your altar to decorate it. This is to guide spirits on their journey.
  • Place a glass of water as refreshment.  This is for the weary traveling spirit after their journey.

 

 Making an altar is a great way to promote cultural capital across the school and a practical way to engage students. You can display it for several days and invite parents to visit it and enjoy the colourful and vibrant piece of cultural work. 

THE FINAL OUTCOME

  This is what I achieved after implementing my planning.

 

 Bibliography:

 

By Isabel O'Donoghue at 6 comments:
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