u/louievee

¡Hola! And greetings! A “gringo” here. My heritage is probably as far away from Mexico as you can get—Italian and German! But I’ve come to love the color, ceremony, and spirit of Día de los Muertos.

I was introduced to it after I moved from New York to Los Angeles in the late 1970s. A friend took me to a shop that had Day of the Dead figures. I was fascinated. I bought my first calaca, and over the years, my collection of calacas, calaveras, and little Day of the Dead nichos grew exponentially.

That first calaca was riding a bull, one hand raised and holding a tin sword. The whole thing hung from a long spring, and each leg was attached to the torso by springs. If you pulled on it, it would bounce, with the figure’s legs flopping everywhere. Loved that thing! Over the years, it fell apart and was eventually lost in one of my many cross-country moves.

I also fell in love with Mexican culture and its beauty. As a designer, I was drawn to the bold colors, intricate details, and rich artistic traditions. And one thing about those Day of the Dead figures—they were always smiling! It felt so different from the gloom surrounding death in the New York Italian world I grew up in. Here was a celebration. The joy of welcoming back those we have lost and being with them once again, however briefly. That idea touched me.

Plus I was brought up catholic, which observes All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on November 1 and 2. So the idea of honoring those who have passed was not foreign. And you guys have better decor!

Right now, I have my Día de los Muertos “display” set up. I don’t call it an ofrenda, because it’s not. It’s more of a fantasy setup with my toys and collection of Day of the Dead–inspired characters. But I put it together with love and respect for your culture.

Almost 50 years later, I still do this with love and respect. And fun. Because seeing my display makes me smile.

And on a side note: “Back in my day,” one of my first online purchases—back in the dark ages of the internet—was a Día de los Muertos nicho! Finding a source for Day of the Dead tchotchkes while living in suburban New York in the late 1990s was amazing! And I haven’t stopped collecting since!

I’m enjoying this sub, seeing your ofrendas and collections, and hearing how you celebrate. Thank you for sharing!

Photo note: The calaca image is an AI recreation based on my memory of the first one I bought in Los Angeles almost 50 years ago. I wanted to be transparent about that.

I’m old-skool. And old.

TL;DR: Color vs. white Christmas lights. Yada, yada, yada. Color wins!

“Back in my day,” I don’t remember white lights on a Christmas tree. Everywhere I went, trees were in color. Bright, colorful lights everywhere. The family tree. The little trees in our bedrooms. My grandparents. Extended family. All multicolor.

Even when we made the cultural changeover from C7 bulbs to mini lights, Christmas was still Technicolor.

Honestly, the only questionable thing was blinking lights. Hated ’em.

I can still remember a friend’s house at Christmas. The saddest live tree, sparsely strung with one strand of blinking mini lights. Twinkling didn’t exist then. Just plain old ON. OFF. ON. OFF.

The saddest.

My mother didn’t like blinking lights either, and she made sure to pass that opinion along to an impressionable young me. Apparently it stuck.

I still dislike blinking Christmas lights. Now, one strategically placed blinking bulb among a sea of steady color can be interesting. But a whole strand? Or worse, a whole tree?

Nope.

Then I went into retail display, where suddenly everything was white lights. Trees. Wreaths. Garlands. Everywhere.

And I understood it.

It was elegant. It was simple. It was beautiful.

But at home?

Color.

For over 40 years we had a live tree covered in multicolor mini lights.

I tried white lights a few times. The year my daughter was born. The year my father died. But I always came back to color.

The nostalgia. The memories. Those nights with the room dark and the tree and garlands ablaze.

Funny enough, I always preferred white lights outside. Framing the house. Covering the bushes. Wreaths and garlands around the porch. There’s something about crisp white lights against the darkness of a winter night.

And when it snowed! The house covered in snow, with the lights glowing through that blanket of white. I used to wish I was a neighbor just so I could stare at my house from across the street.

But once you came through the front door, Christmas was in color.

When I retired, sold the house, and moved into an apartment, live trees were no longer allowed. So it was finally time for a good artificial tree.

I bought a beautiful pre-lit Balsam Hill.

With white lights.

At the time, finding a really nice pre-lit tree with colored lights was surprisingly difficult.

And honestly, I wanted pre-lit because decorating a tree had become harder. I used to spend an entire day just putting on the lights.

After years of decorating trees professionally, I was very particular. Every branch had to be wrapped. No loose wires. No cords hanging everywhere.

Martha Stewart perfect. OCD much?

Try wiring a nine-foot live evergreen that way. Then add another two days to decorate it.

A younger man’s project.

So I lived with the pre-lit white lights for a number of years.

And cursed that tree every Christmas.

Then I stumbled across True-Tone and their glorious C7 bulbs.

They cost a small fortune. I bought them anyway.

And yes, I wrapped every branch the way I always had.

And they worked their magic.

Suddenly I was looking at the Christmas trees of my childhood again.

Big glowing C7 bulbs. Red. Blue. Green. Orange. Yellow.

Color.

I remembered the little tree in my bedroom when I was a kid. I would lie in bed at night with the room dark and just stare at it, watching those colors glow against the walls.

Warm. Bright. Magical.

Decades later, I realized that was the feeling I’d been trying to recreate all along.

I guess this was supposed to be a color-vs.-white-lights post.

But apparently it turned into a trip down memory lane.

Photos:
Left: Present day — Balsam Hill tree with True-Tone C7 lights
Right: Then — live tree with multicolor mini lights

A little update to my Majestic Muertos Miracle…

Majestic Muertos now has company! I added the Adios and Ciao Ciao Día de los Muertos set to the altar, along with a 3D monarch butterfly—another iconic symbol of the celebration.

I’ll be keeping an eye out for more Muertos-related Tokidoki characters to join them. 💀🌹🦋

My newest addition: Majestic Muertos from the new Unicorno After Dark Masquerade series.

I picked up this 3D-printed Día de los Muertos altar last year, never imagining that a year later Tokidoki would create the perfect Unicorno to stand on it. It looks as though it were made just for her. It’s a Muertos miracle! 💀🌹

After more than 30 years, this was my last live Christmas tree. We sold the house and downsized to an apartment where live trees aren’t allowed, so I’ve been “Balsam Hilling it” ever since.

Putting up the tree was always a labor of love: finding just the right one (Charlie Brown trees were my specialty), bringing it home, and with my son wrestling it into the house. Then came a full day of stringing the lights and another couple of days decorating it.

And after Christmas, when it was good and dead? Out the second-floor front window it went (usually with a cheering audience) followed by one final drag to the curb.

Came across these photos of my collection of my Pride related Unicornos. And since Pride is everyday I thought I’d share.

Recently added these Halloween accent lamps to the collection. They’re small, only about 8”, but they add some nice color and brightness to the displays.

Just arrived and Oh Well! Ha!

I was hoping for the watermelon. But not today. There’s the strawberry all
Pink and shiny and new.

I guess I’ll have to get the watermelon 🍉 second hand. And at chaser prices. Oh well

(Picture Oooops!)

Christmas in July has me planning this years tree and decor. This will be the third year with True Tone’s C7 lights. Really does remind me of the trees I had in my room as a child. Only bigger! Ha

And to celebrate CiJ I ordered some illuminated ornaments. Do they count as Christmas lights?