today officially starts dia de los muertos. dia de los muertos is not a scary time, but an occasion for families to gather together and remember deceased family and friends with stories, songs, as well as their favorite foods. In ancient times, this celebration was one month long, a time of reflection and reminder that life and death are part of a natural cycle, and that the spirits of those we love are always with us.traditionally it runs from october 30th through november 2nd, conventionally it is celebrated on november 1st and 2nd, and is not related to halloween in any way. some celebrations start on the 31st and run through to the 2nd, but it varies depending on the region you are in.
unfortunately in the east coast, there’s about zero going on for dia de los muertos. there are a few factions in new 
york that have events for the dias, but especially in boston there isn’t much going on unless it’s on a personal level. like, at my house. basically the week has been party prep. i’ve made pan de muerto, and it came out really fantastic this year. the last couple of days i’ve been working on the calaveras de azúca cookies. last year the idea was to get some sugar skulls and decorate them, and while they were very pretty the ones i ordered came pre-decorated and it kind of took the fun out of the whole thing. this year, my “sugar cookies” are getting the full skull treatment.
for this celebration, the party will be pretty festive. generally, nov. 2nd is the most boisterous day to celebrate life with happy remembrance. so that’s what i’m going for. i haven’t built an alter, but i think i might work on one for next year. nov. 1st is usually a more somber day, traditionally reserved for remembering those who have died young and children. not sure what we’re doing then, probably cleaning and getting ready. but, all in all i think that it could be a really fun time this weekend. this might be our best party to date, not sure. i’m holding out hope, though.
also? how bad do i want to paint my face for the party? how fuckin’ bad?!
