Photo by Hal Smith
Christopher Diaz, 8, a third-grader at Riverside Elementary School, shows off his nearly complete calavera mask Tuesday afternoon. Children made masks as part of the study of Dia de los Muertos — the “Day of the Dead.”
The Lyon County Historical Society took its educational services into the school system Tuesday, when a class of students spent part of the afternoon making masks on a special day set aside to remember the dead.
“Dia de los Muertos,” said Kim Holcomb, public education director for the society. “That’s ‘Day of the Dead.’”
Holcomb described the day as an ancient Mexican-Indian celebration that traces its roots back to the Aztecs.
“Then, when the Spanish conquered Mexico, they mingled it with Christianity and now it’s celebrated around All Saints’ Day,” she said. “It’s a real important Mexican holiday.”
Holcomb was at Riverside School on Tuesday to lead Cindy Durbin’s third-grade class in a mask-making project that taught a little history, a little art and a little bit of Mexican culture to the students.
“The programs are being tied to state social studies standards,” Holcomb said.
The learning experience also brought the students a lot of fun as they cut construction-paper feathers, colored with crayons and markers and slathered glue on the masks to hold liberal sprinkles of colored glitter.
Photo by Hal Smith
Students in Cindy Durbin’s third-grade class work on calavera masks Tuesday afternoon at Riverside Elementary School. The masks were part of a cooperative project between the Emporia schools and the Lyon County Historical Society and Museum.
Holcomb recently had returned, “overloaded with great information,” from a conference in Taos, N.M. Buoyed with enthusiasm to enliven history for students, she wrote to George Abel, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning for the Emporia school district. In her letter, she listed a variety of programs and program descriptions that she could provide for teachers and their classes. Abel forwarded the information to principals, Project QUEST coordinators and teachers. Durbin called Holcomb to make arrangements for Tuesday’s presentation.
“I’m going to be making calavera masks, which are skeleton masks but very festive and bright and colorful, so the kids will be decorating the masks,” Holcomb said before the class began.
She brought templates of two different calavera masks for the children to choose from.
“People will make them as elaborate as they’re artistically able to,” she said. “They’re quite beautiful.”
The celebration always involves food, like pan de muerto, a festive bread whose name translates to “bread of the dead.” Celebrants also clean up cemeteries where relatives are buried; they decorate with marigolds and also make altars at home or at churches.
“They also bring offerings to the cemeteries,” Holcomb said. “These are offerings of food.”
Special candy skulls are made for the children — “angelitos” — who have died.
Holcomb said that the mood of Dia de los Muertos is more happy than macabre.
“Your ancestors are returning this one day of the year. Their spirits are going to be with you, and they’re going to partake of the essence of the offerings they bring you,” she said.
More information about the Dia de los Muertos tradition, including recipes for celebratory foods, may be found at http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/food/pandemuerto.html.
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Posted by Charles_Finkle (anonymous) on November 1, 2006 at 5:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bread of the Dead? Candy Skulls? That is crazy is what that is! Next thing you know they gonna be handing out marawanna cigarettes to them kids! Dang liberals jacking up our schools is what that is!
Posted by hello_neighbor (anonymous) on October 28, 2008 at 3:05 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Crazy you say? Shouldn't be something taught in the schools? Does this not sound like another culture's halloween?
The reason it sounds the same is because it is. Quoting Holcomb, “Your ancestors are returning this one day of the year. Their spirits are going to be with you, and they’re going to partake of the essence of the offerings they bring you."
Look up the origins of halloween...it is a practiced high holy day of satanists & witchcraft. Sacrifices are not limited to food; try animals & humans.
http://www.gnmagazine.org/issues/gn78/ha...
Posted by Weltha (anonymous) on October 29, 2008 at 5:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Why do they make such a big deal about teaching our kids about Halloween but they won't teach them or let them talk about Christmas and its meaning? Just asking...
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on October 29, 2008 at 6:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, I guess instead of teaching about "Day of the Dead", the "marawanna" smoking libs could just turn on a horror film--because I'm sure no smart, literate parent would EVER allow that to happen...you know, the desensitizing of kids....that never happens.
Yeah right.
Melissa
(It was incredibly painful to type that horribly misspelled word, btw).
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on October 29, 2008 at 6:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh, and Weltha? Frankly, I'm all "Christmased out" by the end of October...I've been seeing the trees and other paraphernalia since August. Ugh.
Melissa
Posted by USNretired (anonymous) on October 29, 2008 at 7:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Maybe they should try teaching American Culture. We are the dominant nation on this rock.
Posted by abc123 (anonymous) on October 29, 2008 at 7:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't think there is anything wrong with learning about another culture, it's actually quite enriching and can make you proud of your own culture's traditions.
Posted by create (anonymous) on October 30, 2008 at 7:14 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What exactly does "American Culture" mean? Do you mean "white"? I thought we were more diverse, more multi-cultural. You know, stripes, bands, streaks, mosaic, confetti, that sort of thing. Some call us a salad bowl, some call us melting pot. We've come a long way from the Puritans. Thank Goodness!
Posted by Weltha (anonymous) on October 30, 2008 at 10:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Mel
Oh, and Weltha? Frankly, I'm all "Christmased out" by the end of October...I've been seeing the trees and other paraphernalia since August. Ugh.
Who cares you missed my point. I've been tired of listening to the wanna be new presidents since the day after this all started. But last I saw they are both still blowing smoke up our a$$es. I like Halloween its fun. Don't get me wrong... I just don't think this "Holiday" should trump any other "Holiday" in our culture just because an athiest doesn't want to hear about Jesus Christ birth. Others do. If you are going to celibrate one "Holiday" in school they should all atleast be acknowledged. Thats all I was trying to say. Maybe I should have clarified.
I said....
" Christmas and its meaning" I did Not say Santa Claus and trees. The birth of Christ the real, original meaning of the Christmas Holiday.
Posted by goodoleboy (anonymous) on October 30, 2008 at 12:57 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Because Christmas carries a whole lot more religious implications with it, that is why. Halloween has ties to religion but near in the vicinity of Christmas, also many many different denominations have a version of Halloween, whereas Christmas is more exclusive.
Posted by 4Jayhawks (anonymous) on October 30, 2008 at 2:21 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Not sure why the subject turned to Halloween and Christmas... From what I understand "day of the dead" has nothing to do with halloween.
Day of the dead has been celebrated in Mexico far longer than halloween has.
Posted by USNretired (anonymous) on October 30, 2008 at 2:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I don't believe traditional American Holidays are covered well enough in schools today. Other nations holidays are curiosities but the ones that are woven into this Nations history are important. It is difficult to instill pride in children when they are kept ignorant of where they come from. Each State has holidays as does each local area, and some are shared amongst us all. These make America the Nation that it is.
Posted by MelissaE (anonymous) on October 30, 2008 at 8:58 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"I've been tired of listening to the wanna be new presidents since the day after this all started. But last I saw they are both still blowing smoke up our a$$es."
TOTALLY agree with you there. :)
But I do think Halloween is easy to celebrate because it is not religious(for the most part)--and you have to remember that Christmas is a religious holiday and not EVERY child in school is a Christian.
And to further that point, there are several Christian denominations that think celebrating Halloween (by dressing up and trick or treating) is celebrating something evil. I happen to disagree. I think it's a day meant as fun for kids....if you want to throw history in it, then by all means, include a lesson on "Day of the Dead".
USNretired: You can appreciate this being military--did you ever find it odd that New England celebrates Patriots Day but the rest of the states don't? I realize it came from New England but it was new to me when we were in Maine (Brunswick NAS to be exact).
Melissa
Posted by create (anonymous) on October 30, 2008 at 9:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Thanksgiving is a traditional American holiday; it's covered. So is Presidents' Day. So is Labor Day. Martin Luther King, Jr. has a holiday celebrated in most schools. I always covered it in my classroom with his writing called "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Please don't tell me that's not American. They don't take the holiday for MLK around here, but they do in other areas. The only other major American holiday is celebrated on July 4 when there is no school. Oh, and don't forget Veteran's Day in November. They may not take the day off for that, but most schools make a big deal about it. Timmerman Elementary celebrates the man whose name their school is named after every year on the Marine Corps Birthday, November 10, with a cake and everything. They study the founding of the United States Marine Corps, 1775. Timmerman was a Marine. Semper Fidelis! Also, do you remember the parade with all the little kids carrying veteran's pictures a few years ago? One of the elementary kids from Olpe carried my Marine husband Jim's picture in the parade and just made me so proud. What else do you want?
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