All Saints Festival in Bolivia
During this holiday, the memory of the dead is cultivated, blooming their graves; the cemetery is full all day, and families come to pay tribute to their ancestors. The festival of All Saints takes place on 2 November, however, this festival begins a day before; at noon, when the souls of the dead come home to share with their loved ones; that are still on earth.
ALL SAINTS (THE FEAST OF THE DEAD)
During this holiday, the memory of the dead is cultivated, blooming their graves; the cemetery is full all day, and families come to pay tribute to their ancestors. The festival of All Saints takes place on 2 November, however, this festival begins a day before; at noon, when the souls of the dead come home to share with their loved ones; that are still on earth.
November 1st, at noon; The families of the deceased prepare a table on which they arrange a tablecloth (white if the deceased is a child, black if the deceased is an adult) and symbolic objects are placed on the table (food plates, fruit, massity, sweets, flores, sugar cane, drinks, vino, etc.); There is also a photo of the person being remembered and several candles..
On this holiday, something very distinctive is put on the table, They are the bread. (bread children), which are made in different sizes; stairs are also made, horses, the cross, everything made of bread, In this way the deceased serve themselves what is on the table, since they are supposed to be on the table, what they liked most in life.
at noon, of the 2 November, The ritual of saying goodbye to the souls that must return to the underworld begins, This is accompanied by a hearty meal., because the dead person needs a lot of energy for his return trip.
This festival is very traditional in Bolivia, and the most traditional families carry it out with great faith and joy., because they know that their loved ones, who have already left this world, they will visit them.
Belén Condarco
UMSA Tourism major student
