Ofrenda

Ofrenda, from the Spanish word for offering or tribute, is a ritual practice in which objects, food, drink, and prayers are presented to a deity, spirit, or ancestor. The term describes both individual acts of devotion and the elaborate altars created for sacred days. The concept reflects a history of belief that the living sustain a reciprocal relationship with the dead through gifts, memory, and ritual.

In many Latin American cultures, ofrendas are closely associated with Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Mexican households and communities construct altars that honor deceased relatives with photographs, candles, marigolds (cempasúchil), sugar skulls, pan de muerto, fruit, and favorite foods or beverages. The offerings are placed alongside religious images, incense, papel picado, and personal mementos, meant to welcome the spirits back for a brief reunion.

Outside Día de los Muertos, ofrendas appear in Catholic and folk traditions as offerings to saints, the Virgin, or household guardians. They may be part of novenas, pilgrimages, or daily devotional practices, and can include flowers, candles, rosaries, vases, or votive objects.

Across regions, the specific symbols and meanings of an ofrenda vary, influenced by Indigenous, African, and European lifeways. Regardless of setting, the practice centers memory, gratitude, reciprocity, and the maintenance of family or community bonds across the living-dead boundary.