Having my morning tea and answering e mails I heard the distinctive whoosh of fire being fired into the hot air balloon and went outside and took these shots!!
It was quite cloudy when I left for tennis this morning but after we had been playing a few minutes the sun came out and it was lovely and the tennis fun as it always is…..did a little shopping before I came home and for a change took the afternoon off and relaxed with my book in the back patio…….I did do some chores and watched some tennis from Paris and tonight I went into town and walked around as this weekend is huge celebrations in Mexico… the Day of the Dead….not great shots but you gives you some idea of how they celebrate this special weekend!!!
Decoding The Food And Drink On A Day Of The Dead Altar
Story by Karen Castillo Farfán
Elaborately decorated skulls are crafted from pure sugar and given to friends as gifts.
Sugar skulls, tamales and spirits (the alcoholic kind) — these are things you might find on ofrendas, or altars, built this time of year to entice those who've passed to the other side back for a visit. These altars in homes and around tombstones are for Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, a tradition on Nov. 1 and 2originating in central Mexico.
Altar: Altars are used to welcome the ancestors' spirits into the home. It is also practice to visit the ancestral burial ground to celebrate with picnics and music.
The Aztecs developed the ritual some 3,000 years ago because they believed one should not grieve the loss of a beloved ancestor who passed. Instead, the Aztecs celebrated their lives and welcomed the return of their spirits to the land of the living once a year. That's where the food, drink and music offerings come in.
Hayes Lavis, cultural arts curator for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, says that mourning was not allowed because it was believed the tears would make the spirit's path treacherous and slippery. "This day is a joyous occasion; it's a time to gather with everyone in your family, those alive and those dead," he says.
During the Spanish conquest, Catholic leaders exerted their influence on the tradition, and the resulting mash-up created the Day of the Dead celebration as we now know it.
Everything on an altar has special meaning.
Sugar skulls: Elaborately decorated skulls are crafted from pure sugar and given to friends as gifts. The colorful designs represent the vitality of life and individual personality.
Food: The ancestor's favorite meals are placed on the altar as offerings. Here, tamale is being served. Tamales are made from corn-based dough, wrapped in cornhusk, then steamed. They are filled with a variety of ingredients like shredded chicken in a green spicy sauce or sweetened with pineapple-cinnamon jellies.
Pan de Muertos: Semisweet breads are baked in the shape of bones, and dusted with sugar. They're also meant to represent the soil.
Seeds: Pumpkin seeds or amaranth seeds are offered as snacks for the visiting ancestral spirit. In pre-Columbian times, Aztecs used amaranth seeds instead of sugar to make the skulls.
Alcohol: Bottles are offered to toast the arrival of the ancestors. In pre-Columbian times, pulque, a beverage made from sap of maguey or agave plant was reserved for special spiritual ceremonies. Today, any alcoholic beverage favored by the dead can be used to toast.
.Thanks to Chris for putting this little joke on his FB page …
A cabbie picks up a Nun. She gets into the cab,
and notices that the VERY handsome cab driver won't stop
staring at her. She asks him why he is staring.
He replies: 'I have a question to ask you but I
don't want to offend you.'
She answers, 'My son, you cannot offend me.
When you're as old as I am and have been a nun as long
as I have, you get a chance to see and hear just about
everything. I'm sure that there's nothing you
could say or ask that I would find offensive.'
'Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss
me.'
She responds, 'Well, let's see what we can do about
that:
#1, you have to be single, and #2, you must be Catholic.'
The cab driver is very excited and says, 'Yes,
I'm single and Catholic!'
'OK' the nun says. 'Pull into the next alley.'
The nun fulfills his fantasy, with a kiss that would make a
hooker blush.
But when they get back on the road, the cab driver starts
crying.
'My dear child,' says the nun, 'why are you crying?'
'Forgive me but I've sinned. I lied and I
must Confess, I'm married and I'm Jewish.'
The nun says, 'That's OK.........my name is Kevin
and I'm going to a Halloween Party.'
Yashi Kochi!!!
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