Day Of The Dead And Halloween Comparison

Many people believe that Day of the Dead and Halloween are similar. In reality, the two holidays are very different. Day of the dead originated in Mexico dating back thousands of years, while Halloween is said to originated from the mid-1500’s. The costumes are also different between the two cultures. Dia de los Muertos or Day of the dead originates from the Aztecs, where the indigenous people worshiped Mictecacihuatl (Mick-teh-cea-wall) lady of the dead and queen of the Mictlan the place where all the dead arrive who died of natural causes. In this this culture existed Tonatiuhichan (tone-ah-tea-he-chan), a place where fallen soldiers and women who died during labor. Other places were worshiped as well such as Tlalocan, a place where victims of drowning and those who died of illnesses.

Halloween is said to date back around the 1500’s and was founded by the Celtics who believed that on the thirty-first of October the dead would return to earth. The Celtics called this day All-hallows eve, or as we all know as halloween.After the first Europeans had arrived on the new world, the customs began to change which people now viewed this tradition as more for parties rather than Ghosts or witches.

Day of the dead and Halloween both have the same origins that involve Christianity being mixed in with a thousand year old tradition. The term all saints day were on November 2nd for both holidays before the first settlers had arrived and changed the indigenous people’s ways. The practice of honoring spirits and knowing that the dead would return to earth is also very similar for the two as they would respect the dead.the influence of Christianity is the main reason these holidays are practiced to this day as people from both cultures were influenced by the