Kate's Club often talks on this blog about how everyone’s grief journey is different. Since today is the Day of the Dead, we thought we would take the opportunity to show how people grieve differently in other cultures. Day of the Dead is filled with rituals that have been practiced for over 3,000 years in what is now Mexico.
Dia de los Muertos is a festival where families celebrate the lives of loved ones who have died. Aztec culture viewed death as a continuation of life, so they embraced death as opposed to fearing it. “To them, life was a dream, and only in death did they become truly awake.”
Today many wear masks, perform dances, decorate gravesites, and prepare favorite foods on November 2 as part of this ancient tradition. The skull remains a significant symbol of the festival and is used to honor the dead. They are placed on altars, others are made of sugar – symbolizing death and rebirth.
Would you like to share your story? Please get in touch with Kate's Club! KC has free grief support with grief resources, grief counseling resources, grief training, and volunteer work in Atlanta and surrounding places in Georgia. Kate's Club is a growing nonprofit in Atlanta with grief specialists for kids and young adults going through bereavement. Our goal is to make a world where it is okay to grieve.