Day of the Dead Altars bring culture to life

Honoring the dead is a meaningful and important part of Catholic tradition. Nov. 1, All Saints, and Nov. 2, All Souls, allow us to revere and honor our beloved dead. CtRCS Spanish teacher, Julie Crover, is merging Mexican and Catholic tradition with Day of the Dead celebrations in all of her Spanish classes on the cusp of these holy days.
 
During a week of celebrations, Spanish classes enjoyed loaves pan de muerto or “bread of the dead,” a traditional Mexican sweetbread often displayed on altars during the Day of the Dead festivities, other sweet treats and had a prayer service around their main Day of the Dead altar in Crover’s classroom.
 
“We talk about those who have died and what they meant to each of us,” Crover said. “We discuss the meaning of everything on the altar and pray together in Spanish.”
 
Crover is enthusiastic about the students getting a cultural experience through the Day of the Dead celebrations.

“I feel like we’ve gotten the whole cultural experience, which is the integral part of learning a language,” Crover said. “This is a part of the culture that I really want them to understand and
I am very proud of all of the students who have worked so hard.”
 
As a part of the celebrations, 6th-8th grade students created Day of the Dead altars to honor their loved ones who have passed away. Every altar was tasked with having traditional elements displayed. Altars always have elements that represent earth, wind, fire and water. Earth can be represented by flowers, wind can be represented by papel picado, which means “out of tissue paper,” fire is shown through candles and water is also displayed on the altars. Altars also include photos, religious items, special foods, pan de muerto, salt for the “spice of life,” and joyful skeletons and skulls.
 
“This is a celebration of life,” Crover said. “The skeletons and skulls represent that the spirits are telling us they are happy in their afterlife. I think it’s important to know that this is so happy, joyful and meaningful for families. Our students have done a fabulous job.”
 
This project represents S.T.R.E.A.M. (science, technology, religion, engineering, arts and math) at CtRCS and you can see a video below of all of the altars. Integrating religion, culture and art in the classroom is an example of why a Catholic education is different and is truly inspired learning. For more project examples, visit ctrschool.com/stream-school.