Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
SOUTH JORDAN — Areli Olsen always feels a certain connection to her mother, who died 10 years ago, and other loved ones who have passed away.
When Día de los Muertos comes around each year, though, the ofrenda she installs in her home heightens the sentiments.
"I always feel them close by, regardless of whether it's Día de los Muertos or not," she said. But with the ofrenda, displays featuring marigolds, photos of dead loved ones and food and drink offerings, she feels even closer and senses "that they know that we are remembering them and honoring them."
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead — actually observed over two days, Nov. 1 and 2 — is a celebration with roots in the Indigenous communities of pre-Hispanic Mexico to honor and remember the dead. It's widely commemorated across Mexico and an increasing focus of public events and activities across Utah and the United States. In Mexico, it's also marked by some with installation of home ofrendas, and Olsen, whose parents are from Mexico, counts among those who have carried the tradition into their households.
"It has grown. I feel like 10 years ago, there weren't very many people that were doing it," she said.
In fact, the tradition seems more and more common among her friends and family, who are increasingly making their own ofrendas, she said. Likewise, seeing the growth of public Día de los Muertos events — several are to be held Friday and Saturday in Utah — is inspiring. "My heavens, I'm absolutely so excited. ... It's so wonderful to share this part of our culture with our communities," she said.
As practiced by the pre-Hispanic communities of Mexico, Día de los Muertos marks "the transitory return of the souls of the dead," reads a Mexican government description of the tradition. They "mix with relatives and feed off the essence of the food that's offered them on the altars created in their honor."
These days, marigolds are common on ofrendas as the scent of the orange flower is said to attract the souls of the dead. Pan de muerto, sugary bread, is also common, Olsen said, and she places water on them "for the spirits that are coming if they're thirsty." Salt on the ofrendas serves to "preserve the spirits on their way here and back."
Her home ofrenda is already taking shape, Olsen said, and will probably remain a few days beyond Nov. 2.
'A way to help with the grieving process'
Olsen, born in the United States, said her mother would teach her about Mexican culture and, growing up, insisted that she learn Spanish. They didn't practice Día de los Muertos activities, though. That came later for Olsen, after her mother's death in 2014. The ofrenda that year, she said, "was just kind of a way to help with the grieving process."
She has kept it up from year to year, adding photos of other friends and relatives as they've died. Now, she even hosts a Día de los Muertos celebration at her home each year, inviting friends and family to come and place photos of their late loved ones on the ofrenda. Some of the gatherings have drawn up to 50 people.
"It helps us honor and remember our friends and family that are no longer with us," she said. For her kids, nieces and nephews, the gatherings are an opportunity to hear stories about relatives they may have never met "so I really feel it connects our families together."
