Marigolds play important role in Day of the Dead
A funeral card for a local parish priest says only, “Life is changed, not taken away.”
It aptly describes the traditional Mexican view of death, which feeds the most celebrated of all Catholic holidays in that country, Dia de los Muertos.
For the Day of the Dead, graves are tended and whole families spend the night beside their deceased loved ones' resting places. Meals and treats are provided on home altars to show respect for the dead. Families gather, Mass is celebrated, special foods are prepared and flowers are everywhere.
The flower that has come to define this celebration is
a common bedding marigold that originates with a wildflower in southern Mexico. Before Dia de los Muertos, fresh-cut bundles of wildflowers are brought into the markets for sale for a lower price than cultivated hybrid marigolds.
Known in the ancient Nahuatl language as
(sempahthis marigold was introduced to Europe after the conquest of Mexico. There, breeding resulted in the familiar dwarf French marigolds and large-head African marigolds. The largehead hybrids are sold by florists or grown at markets that cater to Latino traditions. Upscale florists can obtain long stemmed bouquets, too.
What defines the flower is its pungent scent, which Mexicans believe is recognized by the dead and can help lure them wherever the flowers are present. Thus marigolds are everywhere during the Muertos days and nights.
Blood-red cockscomb is an amaranth that is also used abundantly during this feast day, but it is more closely related to ancient Aztec traditions.
During their 14 days of honoring the dead each year, the Aztecs made cakes of amaranth seed to offer to the war god Hummingbird, Huitzilopochtli. Thus it too remains because Muertos, approved by the Roman Catholic Church early on, condensed the 14 days into the two feast days of All Saints’ and All Souls’ days. (The Aztecs are also the root of sugar skulls, which are a contemporary version of the often grisly skull racks once displayed at the great temple of Tenochtitlan in Mexico City.)
Traditional altars in the Mexican style always feature a picture of the loved one being remembered. Also put out are food and alcohol offerings, candy, belongings of the deceased person, candles and burners that smoke with copal, a tree resin that has been the scent of the rituals since long before the conquest.
Marigold flowers are used in many ways. They can be strung into garlands and draped around altars. Sometimes the petals are pulled and scattered over the altar, extending to the floor and beyond to help guide wandering spirits. Sugar cane is often used to create an arch over the altar, and from this bunches of flowers are dangled. Vases are often stuffed with fresh-cut marigold, cockscomb and gladiolus wands.
The beautiful (and beautifully decorated) tradition helps those who have lost loved ones feel close to them again for one magical night of the year.