Though the celebration was considerably smaller than in the Middle School, Wareham High School Spanish teacher Aja Beach’s Monday classes got to celebrate the Day of the Dead.

Beach said she has been celebrating Day of the Dead with her Spanish classes for 15 years, ever since she started teaching Spanish. Though she has never lived in Mexico, Beach said she has visited frequently, and has loved the language and Mexican culture since her own high school days.

Beach explained that Day of the Dead is not, as many Americans believe, Mexican Halloween. Instead, it is “a celebration of the lives of families and friends who have passed away.”

“Oct. 31 is the Day of Preparation. It’s when you get everything to make the altars – the flowers, the food the music – to dedicate to the lives who have passed away,” Beach said. “Nov. 1 is All Saints Day, which is when they celebrate all the children who have passed away, and Nov. 2 is Day of the Dead, when they celebrate all the adults who have passed away.”

Beach said Nov. 2 is the “big day” people usually envision, when they think of the Day of the Dead. “They go to the graveyards, and fill the altars with everything their loved ones loved – so, they have all the foods, all the music that they loved, they would play all the games that they loved, and have pictures and everything,” Beach said. “They just celebrate and party all night long in the graveyard.”

Beach’s classes didn’t visit a graveyard, and (presumably) did not party in one all night, but they did paint their faces as sugar skulls, made skeleton puppets and watched “The Book of Life”, a 2014 animated film centered around the Day of the Dead. Beach also said the classes have been studying the Day of the Dead for a little over a week.

“We do a bunch of activities with Day of the Dead, like crossword puzzles, and crafts, and vocabulary,” Beach said. “They learned a lot about the traditions – for instance, the marigold flower is the official flower of the Day of the Dead, and they do parades down the street with beautiful flower arrangements [in Mexico].”