Mexican expat Claudia Adeath is urging Danes to embrace Mexico’s Day of the Dead traditions as a healthier way to cope with loss and remember loved ones. The cultural curator, who has lived in Denmark for years, believes Danes should be more open about discussing death and celebrating those who have passed.
A Mexican Tradition Meets Danish Silence
As a Mexican living in Denmark, Claudia Adeath has noticed a stark contrast between how her two cultures approach death. When she brings up the topic, her Danish mother-in-law consistently changes the subject. In Denmark, talking about death can make you seem strange. But for Claudia, discussing deceased loved ones is completely normal.
In Mexico, death has its own annual celebration. The Day of the Dead, known as Día de los Muertos, takes place on November 1 and 2 and ranks among the country’s most important holidays. This ancient tradition, which blends Indigenous Aztec rituals with Catholic All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, allows families to honor deceased children on November 1 and adults on November 2.
Many people may recognize the tradition from the James Bond film Spectre or Disney’s animated movie Coco. The 2,000-year-old tradition involves decorating both streets and homes with skulls, orange marigold flowers, and personal altars displaying photos of the deceased along with things they enjoyed in life.
Building Altars to Welcome Spirits Home
Central to celebrations are ofrendas, multi-level altars built in homes, cemeteries, or public spaces to guide spirits back to the living. These altars feature 2-7 levels symbolizing stages from heaven to the underworld. According to Claudia, the altars can include anything from a favorite meal to music to cigarettes. Candles are essential for showing the dead their way home.
The decorations always include marigold flowers to attract souls, candles for light, copal incense for purification, and papel picado, which are ornate cut paper decorations. Families also place photographs and personal items like sports jerseys. Every Mexican state has variations on the setup, with the most elaborate versions reaching seven levels.
The celebration represents a way to tell deceased loved ones that it’s still their home and they’re welcome. Claudia explains that it’s not exactly a party, but rather a celebration where people can lighten their hearts. Mexicans believe their departed relatives still exist as souls, and it’s important to remember them, thank them for life, and appreciate everything they gave.
Bringing the Tradition to Denmark
For the past 12 years, Claudia has helped organize Day of the Dead celebrations in Copenhagen, including events at the National Museum, through the organization Ckultura. She appeared in the Danish Broadcasting Corporation program Min Sidste Gave (My Last Gift), where host Esben Dalgaard Andersen connected her with 33-year-old mother Michelle Behnke, who is terminally ill with cancer.
Michelle often watches Coco with her children. The film tells the story of how the dead disappear from the realm of the dead if they’re forgotten. This inspired Michelle to hold a festival for family and friends while she’s still alive. She hopes to celebrate life but also establish a lasting tradition for her family to continue after she’s gone.
Naturally, the festival serves primarily as a celebration of life. However, Michelle hopes it will become an annual tradition that her husband and children can maintain to remember her. Claudia finds this beautiful, noting how Mexicans remember their dear ones in such a meaningful way.
A Message for Danish Culture
Claudia believes there are many important reasons to remember the dead and talk about death in general. She has a message for Danes because she thinks they try to forget death instead of embracing it like Mexicans do.
According to Claudia, people shouldn’t forget those they’ve loved. They shouldn’t put them in a drawer and close it. Loved ones are only truly lost when people stop talking about them. She believes it’s healthy to think about deceased relatives and discuss them openly.
The only certainty in life is death, so why not accept it? Claudia questions why people don’t prepare for it and why they must be struck by hard and difficult feelings instead of joy when thinking about the dead. She acknowledges that death is sad and difficult. She’s not trying to minimize that.
For many years, Claudia’s grandparents adorned her altar during Day of the Dead celebrations. At the most recent celebration, she had to add her mother. She made an effort to print the best photos she had of her mother and place them in beautiful frames. However, it was incredibly hard for her.
An Invitation to Embrace Another Culture
Despite the sacred nature of the holiday for Mexicans, Claudia believes Danes should simply embrace Day of the Dead. She emphasizes that Mexicans are grateful when others show interest in their culture. They don’t expect everyone to adopt the tradition exactly as Mexicans practice it. Instead, they hope to contribute something to Danish culture about how to remember loved ones in a beautiful way.
The tradition demonstrates that it’s possible to cry and be happy at the same time. This emotional complexity represents a healthier approach to grief and remembrance than simply avoiding the topic altogether.
Michelle Behnke got the festival she dreamed of, complete with plenty of snacks, decorations, and love. She hopes that November 1 and 2 will be dedicated to Day of the Dead in her family’s home going forward. This way, her husband and children can remember her when she’s gone, creating a lasting tradition that honors her memory while celebrating life.
Traditional Foods and Symbols
Traditional foods play an essential role in Day of the Dead celebrations, with regional favorites placed on altars and graves. Pan de muerto, a sweet bread shaped like bones, symbolizes pre-Columbian paths through the universe. Families also prepare tamales, mole with chicken or pork, sugar skulls, and corn-based drinks like atole or champurrado.
Iconic symbols include calaveras (sugar skulls), calacas (skeletons), and La Catrina, all portraying death playfully to mock fear. Sugar skulls, handcrafted from sugar or clay and inscribed with names, top the altars. La Catrina, popularized by artist José Guadalupe Posada, appears in face paint, parades, and costumes throughout the celebration.
Families clean and decorate graves with marigolds, candles, and ofrendas, often spending all night in cemeteries sharing meals, stories, music, and drinks. In some places, brass bands and mariachis play requested songs for the dead, with celebrations lasting through dancing and games into dawn. Monarch butterflies arriving in Mexico on November 1 are seen as carrying the spirits of the deceased.
Sources and References
The Danish Dream: How Does Denmark Celebrate Christmas
The Danish Dream: Best Festivals in Denmark for Foreigners
DR: I Mexico fejrer man døden – og det burde vi også gøre i Danmark, siger mexicaner
