IB students organize a Dia de los Muertos ofrenda as school project
Several Amat students and faculty members celebrated Dia De Los Muertos and All Saints’ Day at Amat this past week with a mass and an ofrenda.
The two holidays honor and celebrate the saints and loved ones who have passed on and mark the beginning of November.
Also known as the Feast of All Saints, All Saints’ Day falls on the first of November. The holiday celebrates all the saints of the church and all those who have achieved heaven.
In honor of All Saints’ Day, Father John and Monsignor Carol celebrated Mass with the school on Monday, November 1.
Along with All Saints’ Day, November 1 marks the first day of Dia De Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. The holiday, which goes to November 2, is a Mexican tradition to celebrate and remember the loved ones who have passed away.
In honor of Dia De Los Muertos, a group of IB diploma students set up an ofrenda in the library to remember our lost loved ones.
“An ofrenda is basically… putting up pictures of loved ones that have passed and you just wanna remember them and give offerings to them,” junior Adriana Rodriguez said.
The students who set up the ofrenda talked about its purpose and importance to their Mexican heritage.
“An ofrenda is a place where we put the people who have passed in our life, people we commemorate after they’re gone,” Junior Sebastian Rodriguez said. “It’s just a way to express our Hispanic culture and just a way for us to remember them for a day or two.”
Junior Michael Chung talked about how the ofrenda could help individual students as well as the school as a community.
“[The ofrenda] was something that would help us both personally and for the school,” he said. “Because for ourselves, it was part of our class project for the IB diploma, and for the school, in order to be able to come together and remember everyone in each other’s lives.
Although they come from very different backgrounds, All Saints’ Day and Day of the Dead honor the same values. Whether you celebrate with an ofrenda or a mass, both holidays celebrate those who have passed on. Whether they’re a saint or a lost family member, everyone has people to honor and remember on these holidays.
