I just discovered a new Day of the Dead, or Dia de los
Muertos-themed movie, coming out this month! “The Book of Life” is an animated film that takes place on Dia de Los Muertos, which is a joy-filled festival celebrated in
Mexico right around Halloween. Given the
light and cheer of this festival, I’m
hoping this movie means more people, whatever their ancestry, will be drawn to
celebrating both holidays!
You may ask, what does Oscar Wilde have to do with Halloween? Well, his mother, Lady Wilde, wrote a book called Irish Cures, Mystic Charms & Superstitions. The book, one the my favorites on my Irish book shelf, is full of Irish fairy lore. Lady Wilde depicts All Hallow's Eve as a very ghost-ridden and angsty time of the year--when the dead even have power over the living. I'm thinking the Irish traditions could add a bit of Day of the Dead joy to the gloom and doom of the olden days!
But count on famed Irish chef Darina Allen to lighten things up. She notes an old Irish tradition--you put out a bowl of champ (a mashed potato dish with scallions) for the fairies on Halloween, under a whitethorn or hawthorn tree if you can manage it. It's supposed to keep away the mischief-making fairies for the rest of the year!
You may ask, what does Oscar Wilde have to do with Halloween? Well, his mother, Lady Wilde, wrote a book called Irish Cures, Mystic Charms & Superstitions. The book, one the my favorites on my Irish book shelf, is full of Irish fairy lore. Lady Wilde depicts All Hallow's Eve as a very ghost-ridden and angsty time of the year--when the dead even have power over the living. I'm thinking the Irish traditions could add a bit of Day of the Dead joy to the gloom and doom of the olden days!
But count on famed Irish chef Darina Allen to lighten things up. She notes an old Irish tradition--you put out a bowl of champ (a mashed potato dish with scallions) for the fairies on Halloween, under a whitethorn or hawthorn tree if you can manage it. It's supposed to keep away the mischief-making fairies for the rest of the year!
With Halloween and the Day of the Dead fast approaching, it
seems like a good time to share Morgan
Carey and The Curse of the Corpse Bride, my Halloween and Day of the Dead
“novelette” for middle-grade readers! It’s a gentle, heartwarming tale, perfect
for all ages. Here’s more:
Morgan has chosen the coolest costume ever—a dead bride. But
when she finds a strange fortune-telling
machine at the mall on Halloween, she has no way of knowing that she has
encountered some powerful magic—and entered a world where her Halloween costume
has become all too real…The next day, on the Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, she faces a terrible
dilemma…
Will Morgan and her best friend Claire be able to break the
spell? Or is Morgan doomed to be cursed by the Corpse Bride Forever?
With the Day of the Dead weekend approaching, I'm offering Morgan Carey and The Curse of the Corpse Bride as a free ebook on Amazon November 1-2. I would love to hear about your Day of the
Dead or Dia de los Muertos celebrations!
