Celebration of Loved Ones
December 14, 2022
Mrs. Thornton’s Spanish classes at the Day of the Dead field trip at MSU. (Bottom row left to right) Conner Loft, Sam Briley, Preston Hicks, Keira Sadler, Alexandria Kepes, Amber Clemens, and Piper Logan. (Top row left to right) Charles Harp, Andrew Juliano, Wes Hart, Jayden Rice, Caitlin Cook, Collin Emery, Desiree Labaw, Hayden Hall, Kyle Winterberg, Jared Allen, Blake Winterberg, Stephanie Raper, Carlen Lepold, Haylee Potter, Elena Wilson, Reese Wells, and Mackenzie Jenkins.
Fair Grove High School Students that are enrolled in any Spanish class at Fair Grove High School got to go to Missouri State University (MSU) to celebrate Day of the Dead.
“In Mexican culture, they believe this day of the year the dead can come back to visit the living,” explained Jayden Rice (10). This is a day that families celebrate the loved ones they have lost. They set up an “ofrenda,” which is an offering placed inside your home during Day of the Dead. The ofrenda contains pictures of your family and friends who have passed, candles, incense, water, the loved ones favorite food, skulls, and tissue paper flowers.
“To celebrate the day of the dead we do a unit over the Disney movie, Coco or The Book Of The Dead to learn about the culture. This year we went to MSU and watched a band play, ate food associated with the holiday and did other fun activities relating to the day of the dead,” stated Hayden Hall (12). The students made all kinds of things to learn about this holiday; it’s a way to help people remember their loved ones that have passed on.
This field trip or celebration is something the Spanish classes do every year. “I do enjoy the food and learning about how they celebrate the dead instead of mourning over them. It’s a much more positive outlook,” said Hall. This is a way for the students to learn about and get to know Spanish culture better.
“At MSU there were lots of infographics talking about the day of the dead. We also made sugar skulls and looked at ofrendas,” said Rice. The Spanish kids spent the day walking around looking at different ofrendas and making different things that related to Day of the Dead.
The MSU field trip is one that the students really enjoy. Reese Wells (10) confirmed this by saying, “This field trip is super fun and we’re all thankful that Ms. Thornton is willing to take a group each year!” The field trip normally isn’t a trip to MSU but they got invited to come this year. In past years they would watch the movie Coco and learn about the holiday during class.