Red – Represents blood and life. Purple – For this holiday, purple represents mourning, grief and suffering. Pink – The bubbly color signifies happiness. Marigolds – People spread petals from these round, yellow-orange flowers to guide spirits of loved ones to the celebration.
Papel picado serves as a colorful and meaningful trim: black represents death, purple means grief of mourning, pink is celebration, white symbolizes hope and yellow stands for the sun. Sugar skulls, or calaveras, add a lighthearted touch, for both the dead and the living.
Marigolds. Often called “flowers of the dead,” cempasúchil, or flor de muerto, these bright orange and yellow flowers' fragrance is said to attract souls to the altar. Their bright and cheery color also celebrate life instead of feeling bitter about death.
Flowers, butterflies and skulls are typically used as symbols. The cempasúchil, a type of marigold flower native to Mexico, is often placed on ofrendas and around graves. With their strong scent and vibrant color the petals are used to make a path that leads the spirits from the cemetery to their families' homes.
Yellow, commonly used in marigolds during ceremonies, symbolizes death. Purple symbolizes sadness and pain, and in other cultures, wealth and royalty. Pink represents hope, purity and celebration. White is also a symbol of purity and hope. The black color symbolizes the land of the dead.
The altar includes the four main elements of nature – Earth, Wind, Water and Fire.
Flowers, which symbolize the brevity of life, are an essential element of the Day of the Dead ofrenda. Though many different flowers are used in Day of the Dead celebrations, one flower has become a national symbol for the festival: the marigold.
Why marigolds are the iconic flower of the Day of the Dead : NPR. Why marigolds are the iconic flower of the Day of the Dead The Day of the Dead is deeply rooted in pre-Hispanic Aztec rituals blended with Roman Catholic traditions. But many of the indigenous symbols remain, including the vibrant and fragrant marigold.
Calavera de Azucar/Sugar Skulls
Unlike the ghoulish skulls and skeletons associated with Halloween, these brightly colored skulls represent the departed souls in the circle of life. “It's to celebrate their lives,” said Caballero.
Purple – Thailand and South America
In Brazil, Catholics wear black and purple as joint colours for grief and associate purple so strongly with mourning that it can be deemed unlucky to wear it at other occasions. In Thailand, purple is a mourning colour for widows only and all other guests wear black.
White. White roses symbolize purity, innocence, remembrance, and respect.
White (blanco) White is found in many of the items for Day of the Dead: candles, sugar skulls, tablecloths, and white flowers used to create paths.
Green has symbolised both decay and regeneration, offering a bridge between this world and the next, writes Kelly Grovier.
The yellow skulls represent the sun and unity because under the sun, we are all the same. White is for the spirit and purity, red represents the blood of life, purple represents the understandable mourning that is felt by those who lose loved ones, and the pink skulls signify happiness.
Black Roses: Change and Courage
While the color black has been used to signify death and mourning, making them a common choice for funerals, black roses can have a more positive meaning as well.
The purple flowers, called "terciopelos," which translates to "velvet," are also cultivated in Africa and Asia. The "Cempoalxóchitl" flowers are known as "Cempasúchil" in Spanish.
Red roses are a popular flower for Day of the Dead celebrations. Red is a color used to symbolize love and passion in Mexico, so it's not surprising that red roses often show up in bouquets or at ceremonies during this celebration.
If you wish to express sympathy and grief at a funeral for a child, baby's breath would be a good choice for your arrangement. However, this flower can also be used to express these feelings for friends and family of all ages.
Mums are an important part of the Day of the Dead in Latin America and the U.S., too. White mums are the flower of choice. They symbolize beauty, peace, and sympathy. Chrysanthemums are often used on altars and in flower crowns.
Popular Beliefs About the Meaning of Spider Lilies
And symbolize courage, love, and wisdom. - Blue Spider Lily (Lycoris sprengeri) represents truth and calm energy. It is also associated with stability in life, freedom of doing something, and of inspiration.
Home altars are decorated with marigolds (the flower of the dead); favorite dishes such as tamales, tortillas, pumpkin and mole; candles; incense (copal); toys and other enticements; and objects of personal use.
Candles - The flame signifies light, faith, and hope; the lit candles guide the souls home and light their way back. Each candle represents a deceased in some indigenous communities, which means the number of candles lit on the altar is the number of souls they want to welcome.