More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what is now known as Mexico, they encountered natives practicing a ritual that seemed to mock death. The ritual is known today as Dia de los Muertos or Day of the Dead.
Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that is celebrated all around the world in many different cultures. It’s a holiday where family and friends get together to pray and celebrate friends and family that have died. The celebration takes place on November 1st on All Saint’s Day when family and friends honor children and infants that have passed and on November 2nd on All Soul’s Days, deceased adults are honored in connection to the Catholic holidays.
Many of the traditions connected to the holiday consist of building private altars with their favorite foods and beverages such as, atole and tamales, ofrendas (offerings), crucifixes, statues or pictures of the Virgin Mary, candles, sugar skulls, marigolds, as well as photos and memorabilia of the deceased. Pillows and blankets are laid out so the decease can rest after their long journey. Family and friends often times pray at the altars and tell anecdotes about the deceased.
On November 1st small sugar skulls are placed on the altars to represent the children that have passed and on November 2nd they are replaced by bigger skulls to represent the adults that have passed. The decorated skulls have the name of the deceased on the forehead and are decorated with stripes, dots and swirls of icing to enhance the features of the skulls.
During the celebration most families visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and clean and decorate their grave site with ofrendas (offerings), candles, and marigold flowers. The marigold flowers are believed to attract the souls of the dead to their offerings. They also bring toys for the dead children and bottles of tequilas for adults.
In the typical Halloween festivities, death is often times feared. But, in el Dia de los Muertos, death is something to be celebrated.
Really cool post on Dia De Los Muertos. This is a good example of a trend or time senstive story for this time of the year.
ReplyDeleteI like this blog post because it focuses on a culture event, when Halloween stories in the Daily Titan or other publications foucs more solely on Halloween.
Have you ever been to Olvera Street in Los Angeles on this day. It is really fun. Good job!