...The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday that brings families and friends together to pray for the souls of loved ones in their unworldly embark in the afterlife while awaiting their spiritual visit. This tradition is strongly rooted in past indigenous, and Christian practices. The Catholic holiday of All Souls Day was initially what brought The Day of the Dead to light when Spanish priests saw similarities between All Souls Day and the rituals of the Aztecs that they had to honor the dead. In order to convert their beliefs into a more Catholic religious based way, the priests moved Aztec rituals to coincide along with the day of All Souls Day. In this way, The Day of the Dead had rooted from All Souls Day, as a way to influence religion on...
Words: 261 - Pages: 2
...The day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. They see death as a friend and also make death humorous; in the film they showed different articles where they even made fun of the president. In the film they also showed famous murals for this occasion such as Diego Rivera’s famous mural dedicated to the day of the dead. Flowers also play a key role on this day; many people use yellow flowers, they say the yellow flowers have the smell of death. Before the event the women prepare food to take to the cemetery for their loved ones that are gone, many believe they come back to cemetery on this day. On November 1st , they light thousands of candles and incenses to help guide the dead to the cemetery. At midnight the dead are supposed to be there. The Day of the Dead, is celebrated during the same time frame as Halloween. Both events are centered on tradition rooted in paying respect to the dead. Though mostly different, a few characteristics of both holidays make them similar. Both Halloween and the Day of the Dead use food as part of the celebration. Halloween involves trick or treating where children knock on doors to receive candy, sweets and treats. Though food is also used during the Day of the Dead, the food is placed on alters at the grave sites of those being remembered during the holiday...
Words: 373 - Pages: 2
...Day of the Dead The day of Dead is a celebration in many Hispanic countries; Mexico is one of the countries that celebrate most this specific day. For them is a day in which the living remember their departed relatives. Is a beautiful ritual in which Mexican happily and lovingly remember their loved relatives that have died. This Celebration takes place on November 1st and 2nd and there are two very special places where this ritual is impressive: Mixquic (a small town in Mexico City, and Janitzio, a charming little island in the state of Michoacan). By the end of October Mexican families start preparing for the celebration, they decorate with cempasuchil (an orange marigold flower) many Mexican families growth their own cempasuchil, believing that doing so is more appropriate for their offerings. Other tradition is what they call Pan de Muerto (Day of the Dead bread) they used this bread as an offering to the dead relatives that they leave at their tombs in the graveyard. They also prepared the favorites dishes of their relative that they decorated with cempasuchil flowers and they also leave these dishes at their relative’s tombs. On November 1st the ceremony in honor of the Angelitos take place in the cemetery; is a ceremony for the little children that died and that could never experience the happiness and sorrow of adulthood. The way that they celebrate is that very early in the morning the church start ringing the bells calling for the children’s souls and their relatives...
Words: 491 - Pages: 2
...THE DAY OF THE DEAD Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday in which people pray and remember family and friends that have died and they celebrate the return of the spirits of the deceased ancestors. To create an atmosphere that a wandering spirit would like to visit the family often creates dishes that the loved ones liked. It lasts three days long and originated from ancient traditions and rituals celebrating the death of the ancestors. The central symbol of the day of the dead is a skull it symbolizes the death, rebirth or return of spirits and is used to honor the dead. During this holiday you see figures of skeleton of skulls-calacas. People dress up in (traditionally) wooden skulls to represent the dead as well. Calacas are seen wearing bright clothes, playing, dancing and singing, to remind the living to embrace death instead of fearing it and to anticipate a happy afterlife. This joyous view of death emphasizes the Mexican belief that the dead don’t like to be thought of in sorrow and that the afterlife is a joyous place. A Mexican artist created a drawing of a skeleton rich woman and called her “La Calavera de la Catrina” or the female dandy. It was used to represent a Mexican upper class woman. Many rich people thought them selves immortally, less likely to catch diseases that poor people had; when in fact they were no more immune to diseases as the poor. Posada’s powerful image illustrate that all people, great or small, eventually...
Words: 407 - Pages: 2
...El Día de la Hispanidad es el día festivo nacional de España. Se celebra el doce de octubre. Este día conmemora la fecha que Cristobal Colon (o Christopher Columbus) primero llegó a las Américas. El descubrimiento de América es tan importante para España porque esto es lo que comenzó la extensión de la lengua y cultura española. En Nueva York, la Quinta Avenida se vistió con las banderas latinoamericanas para acoger la celebración del Día de la Hispanidad. Los españoles de Nueva York rindieron un homenaje a los campeones del mundo minetras se escuchaban gritos de ¡Viva España! Además, se recordó a los mineros chilenos que pronto volverán con sus familias. Cientos de hispanos se juntaron para celebrar el Desfile de la Hispanidad, que rindió el homenaje a la selección de fútbol de España y se recordó a los mineros chilenos. En este tradicional Desfile de la Hispanidad, que este año conmemoró su 47 edición, los españoles en Nueva York rindieron homenaje a la selección de su país que se alzó con la Copa Mundial de Fútbol en Sudáfrica. También, la gente aplaudía y aclamaba para las diez mil personas que marcharon en representación de veinte países. España, que preside cada año este evento por ser el país que descubrió América, estuvo representado por el Centro Español y Casa Galicia. Por su parte, Chile rindió homenaje a los 33 mineros atrapados bajo tierra durante más de dos meses. Los países latinoamericanos mostraron con orgullo sus coloridos trajes típicos y bailes...
Words: 305 - Pages: 2
...The holidays Halloween and the Day of the Dead are similar in some ways but overall different. Halloween is celebrated in America and The Day of the Dead is mainly recognized in Mexico. During Halloween kids walk around collecting candy in costumes. Preparations for Dia De Los Muertos include making an ofrenda which will hold offerings for the dead. The purpose of the holidays is different as well. Throughout the three days that the Day of the Dead is celebrated, the loved ones who have passed away come back to life and enjoy time with their families. On October 31st in America, the bad spirits were known to come alive and needed to be banished before All Saints Day which is why people wore costumes. Therefore, Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos are different. The two holidays are celebrated in different parts of the world. Halloween is celebrated all throughout America, Canada, Australia and in some parts of Europe. Halloween became popular in North America when the Irish immigrants brought their practices with them. Dia De Los Muertos is only celebrated in Mexico. It was first celebrated by the Incas in South America. Therefore, the two holidays are celebrated in different parts of the world and...
Words: 485 - Pages: 2
...When the Day of the Dead comes, it is a time of festivity. Souls who have departed from the corporeal plane of existence and ascended above the heavens come back to the living to visit their families for two days. During this time, homes are brightly decorated and alters are set up in order to accommodate their lost loved ones. However, this doesn’t imply that a holiday exists for the sake of sadly mourning the dead. It’s the opposite. This is a time of celebration – for those who have moved on to the next stage of life. Though their views of death are controversial, and there’s probably several people who greatly disagree with their idea of death – myself included. There are some aspects of this holiday that I can agree with. One of them...
Words: 455 - Pages: 2
...objects are associated with a different holiday called the Day of the Dead. The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, particularly in the Central and South regions, and by the people of the Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the United States. The Day of the Dead is becoming very popular in the United States. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family members and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and to help support their spiritual journey. The Day of the Dead is a two day celebration. The Day of the Dead occurred on November 1st and...
Words: 676 - Pages: 3
...The day of the dead is a very special celebration in the south part of Mexico and in the Catholic church. This celebration takes place on November 1 and November 2. This celebration consists of the Catholic holiday of Souls All Saint’s Day and the indigenous belief of honoring their dead loved ones. They believe on midnight of October 31 the gates of heaven open and the spirits of the adults and children come down to enjoy the celebration with their families. Their altars made for the people who have past away in each home. The altars consist of flowers, candles, fruits, piles of peanuts, bread called Pan de Los Muertos, food and toys for kids who have the past away. They leave things that their loved ones liked to do or things that represented...
Words: 318 - Pages: 2
...Halloween vs. Day of the Dead Amy Barrows Com/170 10/31/2012 Margaret Munger Similar traditions are held between the Day of the Dead and Halloween, yet they have very different origins. They both started out as their own separate festivals/celebrations but over time they gained either Catholic or Christian tendencies. Which only served to make them even more similar, leading confusion for many Americans now a days. Most people know of the similarities but do not know of the origins of either! Even most Americans who celebrate Halloween do not know of it is origins! Day of the dead was a celebration to celebrate the Aztec goddess Mictecacihuatl, Lady of the dead. They celebrated for about a month long in their calendar what all know as August. They had all the same traditions as they do now but back then the altars/shrines they made were at the graves themselves to bring the family/descend person back to the land of the living. Aztecs would spread the flor de muertos (flower of the dead) from the grave sites to their homes. A way of leading the lost souls to their families and loved ones. Aztecs would even make foods and treats with the deceased name on the calaveras de azucar (skull of sugar). This all went on for many centuries until the Spaniards came and influenced their religion with more Catholic ties. Example being they changed the month-long celebration to be only two days coinciding with November 1, All saints day and November 2...
Words: 1122 - Pages: 5
...The Day of the Dead is a three day Mexican celebration where you get to celebrate, honor, remember, and prepare special foods in honor of those who have passed. On these days in Mexico, the cemetaries and surrounding streets are decorated with flowers, papel picado, candy skulls and skeletons, and parades. They believe that the spirit of there dead loved ones return on October 31 and leave on November 2. In Mexican culture, death is not considered to be mournful as well as joyful which, in my opinion, is a good way to look at it. I think that the traditional Mexican attitudes toward death are valid. Most cultures have a very strong fear of and dead the coming of death. Instead, they deal with death by learning to accept, live alongside,...
Words: 311 - Pages: 2
...Day of the Dead & the Sugar Skull Tradition The Day of the Dead and the Sugar Skull Tradition starts on the November 1st and 2nd. This holiday is held in Central and Southern Mexico. They call this holiday in Mexico, Dia de los Muertos y la Tradición del Craneo del Azucar, which means Day of the Dead and the Sugar Skull Tradition. On October 31st, they believe that the gates of heaven will be opened at midnight and everyone that has passed with reunite with their families. Everyone with have beautiful altars made for their passed loved ones. They have in them baskets with flowers, candles, many things of fruit, peanuts, and the Day of the Dead bread called Pan de Muerto. In the alter there is also soda, water, and hot coco. For the...
Words: 372 - Pages: 2
...someone that you can trust. My definition of a friend is a bit different, someone who loves my struggling, someone who is always busy, and someone who can’t keep a secret for the life of them. That is what my friends are like. Yes I said friends not friend. They barely hang with me outside of school. So I guess I should get this started because I’ve spent enough time explaining, now let's get on to more explaining. I’m gonna bring us to one week before Dead David Day in 2014. (Dead David Day is a holiday created by me and my friends.) I was at Cole's house, spending the night when I decided to tell him a secret. I soon regretted telling him the secret because again my friends can’t keep a secret at all. Now let's talk about December eighth the day that I realized I screwed up, the day that Dead David Day happened because I screwed up, basically what I’m trying to tell you is that I screwed up. It was cold that day on December eighth, there were leaves were falling off the trees. All the...
Words: 565 - Pages: 3
...Today is the day of the dead and it is smoldering here in Bakersfield but I'm happy because I am with my two friends, Dominic and christian and we are going to go to the big parade downtown. “Today is especially fun because of the skeleton masks!”, exclaimed Dominic, in excitement for the parade. “The skeletons are gonna be so cool!” christian said with his eyes wide with wonder. All of this talk is reminding me of our memories of the last day of the dead where all of us could not find our parents and our phones weren't working at all and we were stuck in the street with nowhere to go so we just had to wait a grueling night until we found just animals and snakes creeping out from every corner, we are glad that that's over. But now we were feeling that same eeriness that...
Words: 458 - Pages: 2
...Dia de los Muerto is spanish for Day of the Dead. Day of the Dead is a day where people gather up and celebrate people who have died. In the mexican culture, they have perhaps been practicing this event for 2,500-3,000 years. They get together on the dates of November 1st and November 2nd. Even though both of these days are part of Day of the Dead, different things are done on each day. November 1st is a day where people honor dead children and infants. Therefore, November 2nd is the day that they honor dead adults. This crazy celebration is celebrated in places that are both public and private, but is mostly celebrated in people’s homes and graveyards. This takes place in places like Mexico and other Latin American places. On the day of the dead, people set up altars. People make them in memory of their loved ones they have lost. The altars are very important for the day of the dead. These alters are put on white cloths that are laid over tables. On the altars, there is a large arch of marigolds. It also usually has candles, photos of the person who the altar was built for, sugar skulls, incense, salt, Pan de muerto (bread of the dead),...
Words: 466 - Pages: 2
