and flashing orange lights inside his boney chest. The other, wearing raggedly clothes
looks as if he was somehow an animated skeleton of a dead tree, perhaps one of the numerous ash.
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Dia de los Muertos at the New York Botanical Garden
Tuesday, 29 September 2026
Shops start early for Halloween, with ghosties and goblins and skeletons. People enthusiastically participate, with boney skeletons of all sizes strewn around.
There are two on Palmyra Corner Road in Alexandria Township.One has a pumpkin head
and flashing orange lights inside his boney chest. The other, wearing raggedly clothes
looks as if he was somehow an animated skeleton of a dead tree, perhaps one of the numerous ash.
.
But wait a minute, what's this in my e-mailbox - two skulls and a plethora of marigolds,
image courtesy of the New York Botanical Garden, all rights reserved
far more colorful, and somehow even looking joyful. They are part of my invitation to a
Dia de los Muertos event, a day of the dead, a celebration of memory, life, and renewal
at the New York Botanical Garden. The skeletons are calaveras, light-hearted emblems of death.
I mark my calender, invite a friend to come with me. Himself died just three months ago, and one of our cats just three weeks afterward. Dia de los Muertos, indeed. The invitation mentions that there will be an ofrenda, an alter of remembrance. The evening before my outing, I wrote a note for Himself on a long slip of paper. Told him I missed him. Asked if he and Domino had found each other and was Domino cuddling with Himself, and purring. Rolled it up and put it in a film cannister (remember those, for 35mm film?) The day arrives, and we set off.
Arrive at NYBG, park, enter the grounds. There are numerous pots of marigolds, and heaps of different pumpkins and winter squash piled about.
Numerous smaller pumpkins and winter squash, and also some sizable specimens.
I think 516 pounds counts as "sizable" don't you. And many, many marigolds too.
A casual stroll from the primary visitor entrance with ticketing and public access on Southern Boulevard, pass the round Reflecting Pool, turn right to arrive at the Everett Children's Adventure Garden. Before we even enter the children's garden there is music, live music.
There are several stringed instruments - including guitarists of course. And a woman playing the kalimba.
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There is an ofrenda, an altar of remembrance. It is near the musicians, adjacent to the roadway and outside the Everett's Childrens Adventure Garden. Ofrenda is Spanish for "offering". It is a temporary altar or display built to honor, welcome, and provide for deceased loved ones during the annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration on November 1st and 2nd. Yes, I know, the New York Botanical Garden's Dia de los Muertos celebration is early, open to the public from October 3rd to November 2nd, closed on Mondays. But that gives visitors multiple opportunities to come for a visit. I slipped the note to Himself that I had brought with me into a slot on the ofrenda, that you can see in the corner box.
We all have a need to somehow speak to those who have gone on, leaving us behind to mourn them. The Japanese created the more modern concept, that of a wind phone. And I have made a call on one:
Those who have not brought a note from home are covered. There's a box with simple paper squares and marking pens. Write a few words of remembrance to someone who has gone, then clip it note to the cord across the front of the ofrenda. You may bring a small picture. But you won't get it back. And it is really terrible, something not done, to bring a picture or write a message to someone still living.
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If the concept of the ofrenda appeals to you, make one of your own at home. There are
basic instructions along the path in the children's garden. Easy to follow, simple to create.
And my friend and I went in to see the rest of the event's displays.
If you have any comments or questions, you can e-mail me: jgglatt@gmail.com
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