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Get out your costumes and candy, everyone, because Halloween is here
and tis the season to be scary!
So, how will you celebrate this night of excitement? Trick-or-treating?
Costume Party? How about a cemetery fiesta? Sure! Why not? It???s all the
rage in Mexico....
Day of the Dead (or Dia de Los Muertos in Spanish) is a traditional
holiday in Mexican culture honoring the dead, celebrated on November 1
and 2. On the 1st, those who died as children and infants are honored,
while the 2nd is for remembering deceased adults. Unlike the American
culture, Mexicans aren't uncomfortable with talking about death, and
embracing it to the fullest.
Like Halloween, apparel includes skeletons and pumpkins. Wreaths and
crosses are adorned with an elaborate assortment of paper flowers and
cut outs, candles, lights, and an arrangement of various flowers. These
are placed at burial plots of late family members, while people cut
down weeds, give the tombs a new coat of paint, or drape festive
marigold petals around for a fresh new look.
Spirits are expected to pay a visit on the Day of the Dead, so the
still-living family members prepare to make their return the most
enjoyable possible. In the home, special pathways, shrines and
ornamentations are set out as offerings. Special lights are also set up
to guide the spirits to their feast, which can include chocolate and
amaranth seeds, baked goods, sweet rolls and bread molds. Extra sweets
and toys are laid out for deceased children, as are wash basins to
clean up before and after dinner.
Families get together at gravesites for picnics, toasts and mariachi
bands leading singing and dancing. Food and drink vendors set up their
stands while relatives sit and watch the fireworks above. Traditions
honoring departed souls are similarly preformed around the globe, such
as the ancient Egyptian festival of Osiris, and the Aztec month of
Miccailhuitontli.
Although Halloween does not help us become more content with death, it
still has its own merits that are just important to those of us who
celebrate it.
I received my information from:
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rjsalvad/scmfaq/muertos.html
http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/muertos.html
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