Dia De Los Muertos: The Day Of The Dead

Around the world, many countries traditions have formed holiday’s. In Mexico’s case, the Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a holiday that was formed on by earlier traditions. Although Día de los Muertos literally translates to Day of the Dead, most people in Mexico and other countries celebrate it for multiple days. Día de los Muertos is celebrated between October 31st and November 2nd. This holiday is becoming more popular not just in Mexico, but other countries as well. The origins of Día de los Muertos have led to the well celebrated holiday that has appeared in many different forms around the world.

The origins of Día de los Muertos travel back to previous pre-Hispanic indigenous beliefs as well as Spanish Catholic beliefs.

In most regions of Mexico, November 1 is to honor children and infants, whereas deceased adults are honored on November 2. Día de los Muertos is celebrated in many different ways throughout Mexico, in public and private places: it is most often celebrated in homes and graveyards. One way to celebrate Día de los Muertos, is to set up an altar; an altar is a structure upon which offerings are made for religious purposes. Just before Día de los Muertos, families will build altars as a way to celebrate and remember loved ones who have passed to the other side. These altars can include Día de los Muertos symbols, objects related to the person or the dead, and offerings for the person. Since Mexicans believe that the spirits of the dead will return to earth to visit with their families, they often provide nourishing items such as water and food. Another way to celebrate Día de los Muertos, is to clean and decorate the graves of the deceased. Being a symbol of Día de los Muertos, sugar skulls have become very popular during celebrations. During Día de los Muertos, people either make or purchase sugar skulls to decorate in order exchange them with others along with sweets and such as pan de muerto (Mexican sweet bread). Other symbols are used as well, such as skeletons; skeletons such as “Catrina” became very popular as well as other symbols

Día de los Muertos has spread very far and has become incorporated by many cultures due to immigration. The immigration of Mexicans to states such a Arizona, California, and Texas has affected the region by having Día de los Muertos parades and celebrations in the United States, such as the one in Port Isabel, Texas in 2007. However, a more extraordinary effect is how other countries have similar traditions to those that made up Día de los Muertos. In China, The Qingming festival is a festival in which departed graves are tended to. Furthermore, just like the Aztecs, the Chinese believed that ghosts and spirits come out from the underworld to visit earth. Another holiday in In Korea called Chuseok, is also similar to Día de los Muertos. During this holiday, People go where the spirits of their ancestors are enshrined, and perform ancestral worship rituals early in the morning; they visit the tombs of immediate ancestors to trim plants, clean the area around the tomb, and offer food, drink, and crops to their