There are so many holidays in Ecuador, each with its own reasons and special traditions to celebrate. I love getting to learn all about these different traditions because it allows me to learn about the culture on a much deeper level. In this entry, I want to tell you about Dia de los Difuntos, a national holiday here in Ecuador celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. Since it’s a holiday, I had a few days off work and spent some time with my friends to celebrate.
If you’ve heard of Day of the Dead in Mexico, which is celebrated around the same time, Dia de los Difuntos (which also translates to Day of the Dead) is sort of similar to that. A big tradition to celebrate is to eat guaguas (little boy in kichwa, the indigenous language) de pan (bread) and colada morada (no translation). Guaguas de pan are pretty much exactly what they sound like: pieces of bread decorated to look like little babies. Colada morada is a thick drink served warm and has lots of different fruit, such as strawberries, blackberries, pineapple, and naranjilla (which I talked about in my food post earlier). Some of my friends didn’t like it, but I did! I really liked all the fruit in the drink.
