Death and Life When you think of death, it usually connects with a million emotions at once, sadness, anger, regret, the empty feeling you have in your heart, or maybe even fear. But for the Mexican culture, death is happiness Of course everyone gets sad thinking about a loved one who has passed away, but they rather mourn in happiness than in sadness. Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead is an old Mexican tradition that has been transformed throughout the years.This special holiday is considered one of the most important ones in Mexico. It’s a time when family and friends gather to pray and remember those who have passed away. It originates from the Aztecs. Although the exact date of when this celebration began is unknown, it’s estimated …show more content…
This day is called All Saint’s Day because since the children who have passed away are believed to be pure, innocent souls. They were young and didn 't reached adulthood therefore they did not experience any evil in their life. On this day children are given sweets and toys similar to Halloween, in remembrance of the young ones who have passed. Lastly November 2, Dia de todos los Muertos, (Day of all the Dead) is the last day of this celebration that mostly focuses on the adults who have passed away. This last day is when majority of the celebration takes place. Day of the dead is mainly celebrated in homes and graveyards. But as the years pass this celebration expands more. From street parties, festivals, and parades. It has also expanded to different countries than just Mexico, such as more of South America and even in the United States. As people migrated to different places throughout the years their traditions did as well. For example Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles holds an annual …show more content…
In these altares family members put pictures of their family members who have passed away, with some of their favorite foods and drinks. A big role in altares are candles, marigolds, salt, water, and skulls. The candles represent the light in which the souls should follow in order to find their homes. The marigolds are the official Day of the Dead flowers but other flowers can be used in their place as well. The flowers represent how fragile life is and the petals are also used to create a path for the souls to follow. The salt and water come as a pair. The salt is to remain pure from any evil they may attract to their visit on earth and the water is is not only to pass down the salt but to to quench the thirst as well because the souls have had a long journey and they need to remain hydrated. Lastly the skulls, majority of these skulls decoration are made of sugar because Mexico is rich in sugar but also because many people are poor it’s easier to make them rather than buying expensive decorations. The skulls are used to represent the soul, but why skulls? Aztecs believed that when a body had rotted away and there was only the bones left that 's where the soul would
One of the main things the Aztecs are known for are their human sacrifice rituals. They believed that life and balance would not be possible without offering sacrificial blood to the gods since the gods sacrificed themselves to give them the sun. Burying the dead was seen as an act of feeding the earth. The Aztecs preformed two rituals for the dead, the first being for children and the second being for adults. The ritual for adults put special focus on warriors who died in
In digging the day of the dead a distinction between Dia de los Muertos and Halloween is made, the purpose, to highlight the differences and showing the importance and significance of Dia de los Muertos. This ethnography begins by loosely describing Halloween in American culture, it is described as a day where “children dress up as grotesque corpses” and a celebration empty of historic or cultural significance and knowledge. The author Juanita Garciagodoy, later goes on to describe Dia de los Muertos in a romanticized way, by statin that the dead “are not forgotten or excluded from recollections, prayer, or holidays because they are no longer visible” Garciagodoy then goes on to tell a heartfelt story about a couple one holding on to tradition,
I am familiar with both the Mexican culture and the regular American Culture. Those two cultures aren’t alike. Mexicans celebrate different holidays. In American culture, we celebrate 4th of July because of the declaration of independence. But in Mexican culture, we also celebrate Independence Day but on the 16th of September, because we won the war against the Spaniards. Also, in American culture we celebrate the holiday that all kids love, Halloween on October 31st. Halloween is a day to go trick-or-treating and have fun. In Mexico, we celebrate “El Día De Los Muertos “(Day of The Dead) on November 1st. Day of the dead is a day where we remember all the people that have died and that holiday is in honor of them. Mexicans also celebrate “El Día De Los Reyes Magos” also known as “Day Of The Three Wise Men”. This day is celebrated for the day that the three wise men took each 1 gift to the Virgin Mary’s son. Columbus Day is a holiday that is celebrated in both American and Mexican culture. But besides the holidays, Mexican food is different from the all American food that is seen everyday. From pozole, tacos, quesadillas, and so many other foods, the cultures aren’t the same.
Why do people celebrate death? Many people including myself have wondered this, and when I first heard of the mexican holiday Dia De Los Muertos. Translated in english, day of the dead is a holiday where instead of mourning lost ones they remember their lost ones by making alters, decorating their graves with things they used to like or their favourite food and celebrate their life. This mexican tradition is now celebrated throughout the united states aswell and this year we decided to dedicate alters to people we lost in the battle against police brutality. We have lost so many souls in the past decade that a black lives matter movement was created. Its sad that it even had to get to this point but all we can do now is fight for change and
Dia de los Muertos translated to Day of the dead in English is a famous holiday celebrated in Mexico every year on November 1. It is thought that by doing this celebration we are celebrating death but it is the opposite, by celebrating El Dia de los Muertos we are remembering our relatives. In this special day altars are set up with candles lit up and the reason of this it is so that spirits can find their way home. The altar offers spirits their favorite food and in general their favorite things that they used to enjoy when they were around us. The most familiar symbol of this special day celebrated most typically in Mexico and in border cities such as Ciudad Juarez and El Paso Texas are calacas (skeletons) or calaveras (skulls). This ritual was started by the Aztecs about 3,000 years ago [1]. It is believe that on October 31 the doors of heaven open and all of the deceased persons can reunited with their family this is a
...parts of the celebration, October 31st, November 1st, and finally November 2nd. On October 31st, it is seen that the kid’s souls return. November 1st is considered the adult’s day of returning, and November 2nd is when all souls have returned from the dead and there is a big celebration. People of Mexico celebrate by making many baked goods and cooking meals, making objects such as masks and decorating papers and toy coffins to prepare for the return of the souls.
The project is Dia de los Muertos Celebration at the Denver Botanical Garden. In this event you will get to experience the colorful fun of Day of the Dead with family crafts and costumes. Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday traditionally observed on Nov. 1 and 2. A holiday with ancient roots combining Mexican indigenous customs and European traditions, Día de los Muertos is a lighthearted and joyful tribute to the memory of family and friends who have passed away. Families celebrate by decorating sugar skulls and more. This teaches me to be more honorable to the death people, and optimistic about the future. In comparison, American culture does honor a person death but only to a period of time such as 10 years to 50 years.
In the Hispanic culture, The Day of the Dead is a very special holiday celebrated in Hispanic communities. The Day of The Dead is a celebration that last two days. It occurs on November 1 and 2. On November 1, they have a celebration for the young. On November 2, they give honor to family members who have passed away. Traditionally they set up alters in their homes with pictures, candles, foods, and many other decorations. They believe this holiday connects them to their dead ancestors and allows the spirits to be welcomed back. It is one of the biggest celebrations in Hispanic communities and is a very meaningful celebration. One of the specific holidays that is celebrated in the US is called Martian Luther King Jr. Day. This day is in honor of Martian Luther King Jr. and his fight for civil rights. His actions have had a huge impact on America and has become a role model for not only African Americans, but for everyone. He died for fighting for what was right and is honored on this day only in America. Both the Hispanic and US cultures have their own specific holidays only celebrated in these
Mexicans and Venezuelans celebrate Halloween very differently; to the extent, some Venezuelans do not even celebrate the holiday. Mexicans celebrates Day of the Dead instead of Halloween. During Day of the Dead, Mexicans build altars and fill it with desserts, tamales and candy for their passed loved ones, and decorate and clean their graves. These altars are made specifically as a welcoming to the loved ones who passed away. People are sometimes welcomed to visit other’s families’ altars and take part in any of the goodies or stories involved. Some Pueblos or communities, they gathered food from different altars and enjoy the food at their loved one’s grave. Day of the Dead is much similar to Halloween, but contain much more meaning and spirit. We celebrate this holiday to remember our loved ones; not in a weeping sense, more over into a joyous sense. We only talk about the good and special times we had with that individual. People tell each other’s stories and thoughts of the dead to let them know we still remember their presence. On the other hand, in some communities in Venezuelans celebrate Halloween exactly how Americans do, but...
The origin of Mexican Folklorico dances originate from Mesoamerican days when the Mayas and the Aztecs
In total, it is a three-day celebration starting on October thirty-first and reaches to November second. Celebrating death and honoring the dead are its focal points. It is believed that during this time, the spirits of those who have died return to their earthly homes, where they are made welcome with gifts, flowers, and food (“Mexico” 218-226). In Mexico, festivals to honor the dead have been celebrated for hundreds of years, beginning in the fifteenth century when the Aztec controlled the region. These early festivals were meant to honor the Aztec god of death and were held during harvest time (“Halloween and Festivals of the Dead” 195-209). The Aztec also honored their dead during the month-long harvest celebration. As a part of these celebrations, many prisoners of war were sacrificed to the Aztec sun and war god, Huitzilopochtli (“Mexico”
All Souls Day, November 2nd, does anyone really understand why it is a holy day or is it just another meaningless holiday Catholics are asked to attend church? All Souls Day is a day that the Catholic Church has set aside to help pray for all the souls not yet joined with god. During this day, people are asked to pray for all of the departed who have passed on and are now in purgatory working very hard to have the privilege of joining to god.
Halloween dates back to when the Ancient Celtic festival of Samhain was still being celebrated. The practice of costumes and trick-or-treating is possibly related to the medieval custom of “souling” which was used by both Britain and Ireland when poor people would go to door to door asking for food and only ask in return for prayers to the dead. The Day of the Dead is almost like Halloween except the Day of the Dead has been around when the Aztec’s were still building their temples. Aztecs worshipped the God of the Underworld Mictlāntēcutli and his wife Mictecacihuatl. The Day of the Dead lasts for three days celebrating and remembering the ones that have crossed over to the other side so in order to remember them they decorate the graves of their families, eat sugar skulls or calaveras de azúcar in spanish. And for the two days that in extends to is Nov 1st and Nov 2nd, and the reason why that is on that on Oct 31 is Hallow’s Eve in Mexico, and Nov 1st is when they celebrate the day of children or Saints Day and in Nov 2nd is when the Day of the Dead begins along with All Souls
During day of the dead, popular beliefs conduct that the deceased have permission to visit family and friends on earth and enjoy the benefits of life once again, even if only for a short period of time. This time is usually joyful celebration of the living and the dead, it is not a sad mournful time for the families of the dead (Antonio). So some people find not only sadness in death, but happiness, they’re happy with knowing and believing, that they will be reunited with the dead for a short period of time, although they won’t be able to see the ones who have passed on, they still have a deep feeling that they are with
...cing and partying at their graveyards? That’s Mexican celebrate the Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. On the first two days in November, they stop everything for the most distinctive festival that mixes Aztec and Catholic traditions into a special time for families to come together to honor their deceased ones. November 2nd is the official national holiday for the Day of the Dead. An Aztec mid- August banquet with the ancestors was appropriated by Catholic priest to coincide with their All Saints Day to encourage the conversion of the Indians to the Catholic faith.