Saturday, October 31, 2020

Saturday 31 st October 2020..Happy Halloween!!

I had some chores to do in town this morning..


This is San Antonio church close to where the tennis courts are located.





I was watering my plants at my casita when I heard a noise outside...





I just like this...





took the kids to another new hike this afternoon ..they loved it..















Check out the sky ..





I know I say it often but these are good dogs...


Some churches on the way home...








Sleepy village life..












I had some treats but no kids came knocking tonight...



Tonight it is time for the tub, tea, lemon cake and a recorded soccer match from England!!


Stay safe and healthy!!


Yashi Kochi!!

Friday, October 30, 2020

Friday 30th October 2020... a new hike!!

Took the dogs on a new hike this afternoon...


It was along what is normally the river bed but as you can see now quite dry...






They had a great time and we saw some interesting things.....
















Back home resting....































This is taken from the Internet .....


The Day of the Dead (el Día de los Muertos), is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion that includes food, drink and celebration. A blend of Mesoamerican ritual, European religion and Spanish culture, the holiday is celebrated each year from October 31- November 2. While October 31 is Halloween, November 1 is “el Dia de los Inocentes,” or the day of the children, and All Saints Day. November 2 is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead. According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31 and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours. The spirits of adults can do the same on November 2.

Origins of Day of the Dead

The roots of the Day of the Dead, celebrated in contemporary Mexico. and among those of Mexican heritage in the United States and around the world, go back some 3,000 years, to the rituals honoring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The Aztecs and other Nahua people living in what is now central Mexico held a cyclical view of the universe, and saw death as an integral, ever-present part of life.


Upon dying, a person was believed to travel to Chicunamictlán, the Land of the Dead. Only after getting through nine challenging levels, a journey of several years, could the person’s soul finally reach Mictlán, the final resting place. In Nahua rituals honoring the dead, traditionally held in August, family members provided food, water and tools to aid the deceased in this difficult journey. This inspired the contemporary Day of the Dead practice in which people leave food or other offerings on their loved ones’ graves, or set them out on makeshift altars called ofrendas in their homes.








Day of the Dead vs. All Souls Day

In ancient Europe, pagan celebrations of the dead also took place in the fall, and consisted of bonfires, dancing and feasting. Some of these customs survived even after the rise of the Roman Catholic Church, which (unofficially) adopted them into their celebrations of two minor Catholic holidays, All Saints Day and All Souls Day, celebrated on the first two days of November.

In medieval Spain, people would bring bring wine and pan de ánimas (spirit bread) to the graves of their loved ones on All Souls Day; they would also cover graves with flowers and light candles to illuminate the dead souls’ way back to their homes on Earth. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadores brought such traditions with them to the New World, along with a darker view of death influenced by the devastation of the bubonic plague.


How Is the Day of the Dead Celebrated?

El Día de los Muertos is not, as is commonly thought, a Mexican version of Halloween, though the two holidays do share some traditions, including costumes and parades. On the Day of the Dead, it’s believed that the border between the spirit world and the real world dissolve. During this brief period, the souls of the dead awaken and return to the living world to feast, drink, dance and play music with their loved ones. In turn, the living family members treat the deceased as honored guests in their celebrations, and leave the deceased’s favorite foods and other offerings at gravesites or on the ofrendas built in their homes. Ofrendas can be decorated with candles, bright marigolds called cempasuchil and red cock’s combs alongside food like stacks of tortillas and fruit.





The most prominent symbols related to the Day of the Dead are calacas (skeletons) and calaveras (skulls). In the early 19th century, the printer and cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada reenvisioned Mictecacíhuatl, the Aztec goddess of the underworld, as a female skeleton known as La Calavera Catrina, now the most recognizable Day of the Dead icon.






During contemporary Day of the Dead festivities, people commonly wear skull masks and eat sugar candy molded into the shape of skulls. The pan de ánimas of All Souls Day rituals in Spain is reflected in pan de muerto, the traditional sweet baked good of Day of the Dead celebrations today. Other food and drink associated with the holiday, but consumed year-round as well, include spicy dark chocolate and the corn-based liquor called atole. You can wish someone a happy Day of the Dead by saying, “Feliz día de los Muertos.”



Due to Covid most of these activities are cancelled...


Stay safe and healthy!!!


Yashi Kochi!!!

Thursday, October 29, 2020

Thursday 29 th October 2020...mini excursion!!!

Lilly comes on Thursdays and does a wonderful job cleaning the house and I like to have the dogs away when she comes....


So we went an a half day adventure.....first through town where more flags have been put up...





Then about a 40 minute drive and once off the highway the road into the mountains is up and lovely...















We came to our destination...










This is actually a camping area but as you can see nice facilities but no one here, maybe at the weekend..









The dogs loved it with Negrita running all over the place....








The trail over looks the road ...



.


Mountains are gorgeous..








.and out to the reservoir near  to the big city of Quertaro .



Almost back to the car..





Sights on the way back to the highway..






We did encounter some traffic....













It was a lovely afternoon out in the country, clean air, no vehicles or people...and all three of them slept on the way home...


Stay safe and healthy!


Yashi Kochi!


Thursday 5 th January 2023…it was a great run!!!

 This was my first ever blog post back in November of 2006!!! With just a couple of days off I have written a blog every day since and I hav...