Day of the Dead
El Día de los Muertos (Mexican Name) or All Soul's Day (English Name) is celebrated on November 2. A Catholic holiday, it commemorates those loved ones who have passed away. Countries celebrate in different ways. In Guam it is a legal holiday, and all Guam government offices and schools are closed.
I woke up early to bake the pan de muerto, a typical Mexican bread made with orange peel and anise seed for flavoring, dusted with egg white and sugar. Yum! Our friends Urte and Hartmut from campus rescued us by allowing us to bake at their house when our oven ran out of gas. I guess it turned out okay. My family enjoyed it.
Later on in the day we went to a cemetery so that Joel and Amelia could see the local custom of going to visit the graves of the deceased loved ones. We saw lots of pretty floral displays everywhere.
It really is a "big deal" as you can see from the crowds of people using umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. It has been so hot here the past few days.
Here is our family looking at some of the flowers and gravestones. It may seem morbid to some, but it quite "normal" here in Guam, and even in Ecuador, to visit the cemetery on November 2 each year. In Mexico families even have picnics there. We didn't see any of that in Guam.
I woke up early to bake the pan de muerto, a typical Mexican bread made with orange peel and anise seed for flavoring, dusted with egg white and sugar. Yum! Our friends Urte and Hartmut from campus rescued us by allowing us to bake at their house when our oven ran out of gas. I guess it turned out okay. My family enjoyed it.
Later on in the day we went to a cemetery so that Joel and Amelia could see the local custom of going to visit the graves of the deceased loved ones. We saw lots of pretty floral displays everywhere.
It really is a "big deal" as you can see from the crowds of people using umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. It has been so hot here the past few days.
Here is our family looking at some of the flowers and gravestones. It may seem morbid to some, but it quite "normal" here in Guam, and even in Ecuador, to visit the cemetery on November 2 each year. In Mexico families even have picnics there. We didn't see any of that in Guam.
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