Pib-wrapped in banana leaves and baked.

We are so lucky to have this opportunity to learn about a new culture first hand and to see how the festivities affect peoples daily lives. Hanal Pixán is celebrated in the Yucatan on November 1 as part of the Dia de los Muertos or “Day of the Dead” celebrations. Today on November 1, we had our first Day of the Dead celebration at our house with many of our new friends.

Landy was kind enough to bring us ‘pib’ for lunch which she had be up at 5am to start making with her mother-in-law. We really enjoyed this dish and sharing with family and new friends made it even more special. Pib is roasted or traditionally cooked underground. It is also the name given to a kind of big tamale cooked under the earth, which is also called pibipollo or mucbipollo, but these last two terms have the Spanish word chicken. We cut through the crust and ate it like pizza!

We have put together our first family alter in our house to help us celebrate the lives of family members who are no longer living. I had a lot of trouble finding the table covering I wanted for this family table so after an exhaustive search around Merida I had one made for me by the modista from the Chicxulub Casa de Cultura. We love it and many thanks go out to the ladies who made this so quickly for us! I requested this on Monday night, and by Thursday it was ready with all the traditional Yucatecan items on it. We will treasure it for along time and use it yearly, wherever we may call home. The items from left to right are: Candle, Relleno Blanco, Beer, Pib, Pan de Muerto, Chocolate, Coffee, and another candle.

Our family table is not quite fully Yucatecan, but a blend from the rest of Mexico with ‘La Calavera Catina’ on the table as well. These are the skeletons which are elegantly dressed and are becoming a symbol of Dia de los Muertos. As with all things, this table will evolve with us as we learn more about the culture and traditions. Next year we will definitely be having picture frames of our loved ones, flowers, food, fishing equipment, chess pieces, baking tools, candies, and of course a Kokanee for Opa! As with all things, trying to get it right the first time would be exhausting and we are just very glad that we have a special table set up to remember our grandparents and to educate our children on the importance of traditions.

We are amazed at the reaction this celebration of life has caused within our own family. Evan and Noah are very excited to learn more about their ancestors, many of whom they never had the chance to meet. We get to talk about many different things and can explain to them how things we teach them may have originated from a great grandparent they never met. They know that I was taught to fish from my Opa, learned how to bake from my Oma, learned how to play chess with my Grandpa. All of these things that are being passed down to them.

While we may not have fully experienced the traditions of this celebration, we have certainly started to learn a little bit more about this amazing culture. This is a festive time where families welcome their dead back into their homes and enjoy the memories. This is definitely a celebration we will continue well into the future and hope that our children’s children will someday remember us and the adventure we went on!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us to learn more about this tradition.

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