Dia de los Muertos

The Day of the Dead, celebrated in Mexico and other usually Catholic countries.

The last time I was looking for images to go with my post about the Mistletoe Bride - I found one or two to do with  Dia de los Muertos. I put them on one side , resolving to use them later.

As it so happens, I have been invited  to a Mexican themed party. Immediately, I thought of Frida Kahlo - though not perhaps like this - dressed as a traditional Mexican bride with intricate lace and flowers on her crown and Diego Ribiera on her mind.

But it brought me back to those Day of the Dead Brides. In Mexico, the orange marigold or Flor de Muerto is thought to summon the dead. People make altars with sugar skulls and other offerings to their dead family members.

This bride seems to have been waiting a while.

And this one's even called the Waiting Bride.

 People make masks and there is a carnival atmosphere, I've read.

 You can dress up like this Corpse Bride by following the link below.

By Crafty Chica

But with all those masks and disguises, how can you know who - or what - is behind them?

Considering the Lily

Brides have often carried lilies in their bouquets.

The bouquet itself may well come from the bunch of flowers and herbs that richer people carried in the Middle Ages. Different kinds were known as posies, tussie-mussies or nosegays. (The Queen still  carries one on Maundy Thursday). These were meant to keep away noxious smells and poisonous miasmas that caused disease.

The pure white Madonna lily is heavily scented. It is associated with the Virgin Mary as a symbol of innocence. 

Even so, many people won't have it indoors because it reminds them of funerals; before embalming, mortuary chapels and refrigeration, its powerful perfume was used to mask the smell of decay.

Similarly, the Calla or Arum lily can have a strong scent. In frost-free parts of America, it is grown on graves as a sign of resurrection. 

It was popular in the '20s and '30s in bridal sprays - very glamorous and Hollywood together with dropwaist satin dresses and headbands.

Finally, the name always makes me think of Lily Munster. I thought Yvonne de Carlo in the popular comedy of the 60s The Munsters was very beautiful in an eerie way.