How Our Family is Celebrating Día de Muertos

In 2019, after spending years in the adoption process, our family grew to include our amazing son. Adoption is complex for many reasons. One area of complexity is that son does not share the same cultures as us. Over the last year we have learned more about our son’s cultures and how to bring his heritage into our family.
As a transracial adoptive family, it is a priority for us to learn as much as we can to help our son stay connected to all areas of who he his. Incorporating celebrations from his various cultures is important to us.

This year we are celebrating Día de Muertos for the first time. Including Mexican culture in our home is a way for us to stay connected to our sons heritage and help him know more about where he comes from.

For us, celebrating Día de Muertos includes:

• Making monarch butterflies for the family members in our family that have passed

• Making a marigold garland to hang over our fireplace

• Sharing pictures and stories of our loved ones in honor of their memory

• Making a dinner with the favorite dishes of our loved ones

• Having pan de muertos

For our family, adoption didn't simply mean bringing another child into our home, it meant accepting all the aspects of our son and what makes him who he is. In the same way we celebrate my family German traditions, we hope bringing Día de Muertos into our home will be a way E.J. feels connected to one of his cultures.