Princeton residents will have the chance to extend Halloween past Oct. 31 this year with two local organizations that are holding events celebrating El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead).
El Dia de los Muertos is a holiday celebrated between Oct. 31 and Nov. 2. every year throughout Latin America. The holiday, which originated in Mexico, has been increasingly celebrated in the United States in recent years as the country’s Latin American population has grown.
On Nov. 1, the Historical Society of Princeton is set to host a scavenger hunt from noon to 4 p.m. around the grounds of Updike Farmstead, the six acre property owned by the organization. Children will have their choice of prizes at the end of the hunt.
“While participating in the scavenger hunt, families can browse the museum galleries and explore the incredible beauty of this historic site,” said a news release. The event is free with museum admission.
The spooky fun continues on Nov. 2 when the Arts Council of Princeton and Princeton Shopping Center present their annual Day of the Dead celebration from 3 to 5 p.m. Festivities include Mexican paper flower making, sugar skull decorating, professional face painting, a Mariachi band and Mexican cuisine.
According to nationalgeographic.com, El Dia de los Muertos honors the dead with festivals and lively celebrations. Assured that the dead would be insulted by mourning or sadness, the holiday celebrates the lives of the deceased with food, drink, parties and activities the dead enjoyed in life.
“El Dia de los Muertos recognizes death as a natural part of the human experience, a continuum with birth, childhood, and growing up to become a contributing member of the community,” said National Geographic. “On El Dia de los Muertos, the dead are also a part of the community, awakened from their eternal sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones.”
During the event, skulls and skeletons are portrayed as enjoying life, often in fancy clothes and entertaining situations.
Maria Evans, community arts manager at the Arts Council of Princeton, said that this is the second year that the Arts Council has held the event at Princeton Shopping Center. Evans said she first became aware of the tradition from her sister in law, who was from Mexico City and would hold a day of the dead celebration in her home every year.
“The event has morphed over time,” Evans said. “We originally held it in our old building down on Robeson. We incorporated the gallery, we had mariachis up in the theater and the whole building was packed full of festivities.”
The council’s new building hosted the event a few times until they decided to move it to Princeton Shopping Center last year. “It turned out to be the perfect format,” Evans said. “There’s no traffic and there’s parking galore. We were mobbed last year. We didn’t know what to expect and we were so thrilled with how it turned out.”
One of the most familiar symbols of El Dia de los Muertos are the calaveras — skulls made of sugar that are festively decorated with icing.
During last year’s event, the Arts Council made 150 sugar skulls and wound up running out. Evans said that this year they will have more that 200 undecorated skulls available on hand.
She said that the skulls are made by mixing big batches of granulated sugar with meringue powder as the binder. “We pack them into molds and then level them off on a piece of cardboard. Then we leave them to harden for six to eight hours.”
Technically, the sugar skulls are edible, but it’s not recommended. “That’s the first question a lot of kids ask. We tell the kids, ‘man if you want to eat that much sugar, you’re not going to feel very good.’ A lot of people use them as decorations.”
The skulls for this year’s event were made over the course of four Saturdays by volunteers, including Princeton High School community service students.
The event is open and free to the public. For more information, visit the Arts Council of Princeton’s website at artscouncilofprinceton.org or call (609) 924-8777.
–Bill Sanservino
