Sunday, November 3, 2013

Dia de los Muertos.....


The 'Day of the Dead'' is celebrated in Mexico and many other cultures around the world.. it is said that at midnight on the 31st of October each year the gates of heaven are opened and the spirits of deceased children are allowed to reunite with their families for 24 hours and on 2nd of November the spirits of the adults come down to enjoy the festivities prepared for them.. unlike Halloween these are colourful and joyous celebrations. Perth had it's own carnival with Mexican food, music, painting of sugar skulls and shrine making. The secret to a successful shrine is the collecting together of all of the deceased persons favourite things that they enjoyed while alive.. above and below a shrine to two of Mexico's most treasured, Pedro Infante and Frida Kahlo.. 
...it did make me smile to see a shrine to the 'crocodile hunter' Steve Irwin, it would seem he did enjoy a Carlton :)  
Aimee and I were lucky (?) enough to snaffle a bean bag to sit in and watch the festivities and in answer to your question Ciel from Versailles :) yes they do get hot, it'll be a picnic rug for me the next time! There's been so many events in Perth this weekend it's been RIDICULOUS trying to get to them all.. Aimee's participating in the 'colour run' early this morning with moi taking photos.. after that I'm looking forward to catching up and seeing what you've been up to! Happy weekend, take care...

31 comments:

  1. Sounds like a fun event. The Mexican things are always colorful and they look wonderful.

    Here in the USA Halloween (the last of October) although not really a holiday, when I was a child was a fun time. As an adult the only place I ever had fun and witnessed many others having fun was when I was in Montana. The small towns out there always had a big celebration -- snow or not.

    I think the Roman Catholic Church still celebrates All Saint's Day on the first of November. Generally it is a forgotten day by most of society.

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  2. Lots of colorful fun and celebrating, Grace!! I do love your captures for the day -- as always!! I agree with Bill about Montana -- we raised our family there and it was lots of fun for all the holidays!! Have a great weekend!

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  3. I surely prefer this way to celebrate this day. I like those colorful celebrations!

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  4. When I was a kid in Catholic school Nov 1 was quite the holy day but I don't think it gets the same attention today as it did then. Aimee fits right in to the festivities with her RED hair! ;-)

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  5. Lovely colored pictures.....i like this post.

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  6. Wow you really got the colors in those photos, nice. One or our cats has been gone for over a week and came back (from the dead?) during the night of the 31st. Cats have a way of making dramatic comings and goings it seems.

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  7. Your pics are great ! Looks just like Mexico. I went to Oaxaca years ago to see the Day of the Dead celebration. It was quite moving. Families stayed up all night in the cemeteries to be with their lost loved ones. It was not all gruesome or sad, but more of a warm get together between the living and the dead. Definitely not Halloween.

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  8. Oh boy what a gorgeous riot of colours!

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  9. So colourful, it sounds much nicer and more meaningful than Halloween.

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  10. Dynamic colours. The little tableau for Steve Irwin surprised me. Love the arrangement round his photo. And adore the hot red "hair" in the last photo.

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  11. What wonderful colours and pics Grace - glad you and Aimee were able to get out and enjoy it all. Joy

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  12. Great set of vibrant photos with an interesting Take on day of the Dead in Oz.

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  13. Interesting post, Grace. Such bright colors!

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  14. It's a long way from WA to Mexico but you pull off the event very well. The one time we visited Mexico City we visited the Frieda Kahlo Museum in the house she lived in with Diego Rivera. Fabulous.

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  15. I'm blinded. Those colors are bright. Aimee fits right in. Does she really need to race to get any more colors?

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  16. Such a colorful post!! I'm waiting for my daughter to send some selfies of the Color Run.

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  17. It's wonderful to see this holiday celebrated in Australia. I'm used to seeing it here every year but I didn't expect to see it there. Sounds like you had a great time.

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  18. I did a double take when I clicked on your blog...a very different look for today. And so interesting. The colours are brilliant and you captured them well, of course :). Busy? My gosh it is all happening in Perth! Love the images, Grace!

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  19. Love all this color, Cheri!

    ALOHA from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral
    =^..^= <3

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  20. That certainly is a different perspective on death and the afterlife!! AND SO much colour can't possibly be a bad thing, right?!?!

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  21. That is a very colourful remembrance.

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  22. In Europe, the Day of the Dead is celebrated on 1st November (usually a public holiday) and those with deceased family go to the cemeteries to deposit bunches of flowers on their headstones. Nothing as colourful as those images above though....
    I came across thousands of "Colour Run" participants this morning when I went into the city to visit some of the "Open House Perth" buildings. Far too many events to keep up with...

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  23. For us, Nov. 1 was always All Saints Day followed by All Souls Day on Nov. 2.

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  24. I really love that guitar! Your pictures are wonderful dear Grace, glad that you enjoyed this event!
    Léia

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  25. This is weird, Grace. I dreamed of my Mum that night! And I didn´t now about this festival...

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  26. Love that orange hair! Halloween is pretty big around still, but it's not very traditional anymore.
    Nice photos! I love those shrines.

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  27. I didn't forget about the day but didn't find time to go to our Hispanic neighborhood to photograph the occasion this year. Last Sunday, however, our Unitarian church had a table for Dia de los Meurtos. Seemed so odd in that environment. Happy it was honored though.

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  28. Sure beats the Swedish tradition of lighting a candle at the graves of the deceased.

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  29. I'm a big, big fan of Dia de los Muertos, especially after having visited Mexico, Frida's house, etc! :-)

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