This week, I wanted to bake something for what has become one of my favorite holidays: Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos.  While Day of the Dead is not a part of my cultural heritage, I love the concept of the holiday.  Rather than mourning the loss of loved ones and wallowing in sadness, the focus of Day of the Dead is to celebrate those who are no longer with us and invite their souls to visit.  It’s actually a two-day holiday that happens on November 1 and 2.  The first day celebrates children and infants, and the second day celebrates adults.  Families create altars, or ofrendas, which hold pictures of the deceased loved ones, as well as favorite items and foods, candles to light their way, and glasses of water to quench their thirst.  Other traditional elements include marigolds, tissue paper decorations (papel picado), and the ubiquitous sugar skull.  I incorporate the elements that are most meaningful to my family in my personal celebration, but this year I wanted to try something a bit more traditional and make pan de muerto.

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