Dia de los muertos
Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), is a Mexican holiday whose intricate history is intertwined with the history of Mexico and Mexican culture. Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st and 2nd, during which the graves of loved ones are decorated, special foods like mole and pan de muerto are made, ofrendas are built to honor the dead, and special festivals and processions are held.
Dia de los Muertos originated in ancient Mesoamerica, where Native American traditions blended with those of the Spaniards who arrived in Mexico in the early 1500's. Established communities existed from central Mexico to present day Honduras, composing Mesoamerica. Later, the Chicano Movement of the 1960's and 1970's embraced Dia de los Muertos as a way to recover pre-Hispanic and Mexican identities. Today, Dia de los Muertos continues to be celebrated by Mexicans and Mexican Americans across Mexico and the United States every November.
Dia de los Muertos originated in ancient Mesoamerica, where Native American traditions blended with those of the Spaniards who arrived in Mexico in the early 1500's. Established communities existed from central Mexico to present day Honduras, composing Mesoamerica. Later, the Chicano Movement of the 1960's and 1970's embraced Dia de los Muertos as a way to recover pre-Hispanic and Mexican identities. Today, Dia de los Muertos continues to be celebrated by Mexicans and Mexican Americans across Mexico and the United States every November.
Origins
The Maya, Aztec, Toltec, and Olmec peoples and their societies flourished within Mesoamerica for thousands of years prior to contact with the Spanish. As a region inhabited by millions of people, the area had a great deal of cultural diversity, including several hundred distinct languages
Holding a festival to honor the dead is a custom that can be traced back to the indigenous Olmec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Maya, and Aztec people. On the Aztec calendar, the festival for the dead was celebrated for an entire month. It was dedicated to the goddess of death Mictecacihuatl, who ruled over the underworld with her husband, Mictlantecuhtli.
The arrival of Spanish conquistadors to the New World in the early 1500s brought the first interactions between Indigenous and Spanish cultures. The Spaniards were also a diverse people whose regionally distinct cultures were influenced by the rituals and traditions of Catholicism. The Catholic Church would begin sponsoring many of the conquistador trips in exchange for the conversion of thousands of natives to Catholicism. Today, many Day of the Dead ofrendas are often decorated with crosses and pictures or images of Catholic saints.
The Spaniards also encouraged the indigenous cultures to practice their rituals for honoring the dead on the Catholic holidays All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. This mixture of religious traditions developed into the various rituals and imagery used to celebrate Day of the Dead.
Holding a festival to honor the dead is a custom that can be traced back to the indigenous Olmec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Maya, and Aztec people. On the Aztec calendar, the festival for the dead was celebrated for an entire month. It was dedicated to the goddess of death Mictecacihuatl, who ruled over the underworld with her husband, Mictlantecuhtli.
The arrival of Spanish conquistadors to the New World in the early 1500s brought the first interactions between Indigenous and Spanish cultures. The Spaniards were also a diverse people whose regionally distinct cultures were influenced by the rituals and traditions of Catholicism. The Catholic Church would begin sponsoring many of the conquistador trips in exchange for the conversion of thousands of natives to Catholicism. Today, many Day of the Dead ofrendas are often decorated with crosses and pictures or images of Catholic saints.
The Spaniards also encouraged the indigenous cultures to practice their rituals for honoring the dead on the Catholic holidays All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. This mixture of religious traditions developed into the various rituals and imagery used to celebrate Day of the Dead.
Modern celebrations
Dia de los Muertos is annually celebrated on November 1st and 2nd. The first day, called “Día de los Angelitos” (Day of the little angels), is dedicated to the souls of deceased children, while November 2nd is set aside for the souls of adults. Before these days, families may clean their homes to prepare for the arrival of the souls of their loved ones. Many also visit cemeteries to decorate the graves of the dead with their favorite items and flowers.
Graves and ofrendas are decorated with papel picado, photographs, cherished objects, marigolds (cempasúchitl), and skeletons made of paper or clay. Food and drink are placed on the ofrendas for the dead. It is believed the dead enjoy the tastes and smells of the food.
There are many important foods associated with Dia de los Muertos. In particular the main dish is mole, which is meat (usually chicken or pork) cooked with a sauce made from chilies, chocolate, peanuts, and other ingredients that vary by region. Pumpkin candies, rice pudding, and tamales may also be offered. Bakeries produce special bread called pan de muerto in the shape of people or bones and decorated with pink sugar. Stores also sell skulls made of sugar or chocolate, adorned with names, for children and adults to eat.
Graves and ofrendas are decorated with papel picado, photographs, cherished objects, marigolds (cempasúchitl), and skeletons made of paper or clay. Food and drink are placed on the ofrendas for the dead. It is believed the dead enjoy the tastes and smells of the food.
There are many important foods associated with Dia de los Muertos. In particular the main dish is mole, which is meat (usually chicken or pork) cooked with a sauce made from chilies, chocolate, peanuts, and other ingredients that vary by region. Pumpkin candies, rice pudding, and tamales may also be offered. Bakeries produce special bread called pan de muerto in the shape of people or bones and decorated with pink sugar. Stores also sell skulls made of sugar or chocolate, adorned with names, for children and adults to eat.
Reflecting on culture & history
Dia de los Muertos is a unique holiday whose complexities are parallel to the varied identities of the Mexicans and Mexican Americans who celebrate it. The holiday - with its roots in ancient Mesoamerican culture, the blending with Catholicism, and its inspiration of a distinctively Mexican style of art - projects a healthy, humorous, and celebratory view of life and death as unique as the history from which it came.
Today Mexicans, Mexican Americans and others annually celebrate Dia de los Muertos. This holiday is part of the common cultural heritage of Mexicans and Mexican Americans that is not bound by the borders of nations, but moves with the human flow of people and their cultures. As a modern living tradition, Dia de los Muertos has many practices that vary depending on where it is taking place, including Mexico, the United States, and increasingly in places across the world such as Canada.
Today Mexicans, Mexican Americans and others annually celebrate Dia de los Muertos. This holiday is part of the common cultural heritage of Mexicans and Mexican Americans that is not bound by the borders of nations, but moves with the human flow of people and their cultures. As a modern living tradition, Dia de los Muertos has many practices that vary depending on where it is taking place, including Mexico, the United States, and increasingly in places across the world such as Canada.