Day
of the Dead
Day of the Dead
(Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in
particular the Central and South regions, and acknowledged 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, and help support
their spiritual journey. In 2008 the tradition was inscribed in the
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.
The holiday is
sometimes called Día de los Muertos in Anglophone countries, a back-translation
of its original name, Día de Muertos. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico
where the day is a public holiday. Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th
century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. It was moved to
October 31, November 1 and November 2 to coincide with the Western Christian
triduum of Allhallowtide: All Saints' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day.
Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called
ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite
foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.
Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.
Scholars trace the
origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back
hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess
Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed
within other deep traditions for honoring the dead. It happens to be a holiday
that has become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational
purposes) in the nation's schools, but there are families who are more inclined
to celebrate a traditional "All Saints' Day" associated with the
Catholic Church.
Originally, the Day of
the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was even
unknown until the 20th century; before that the people and the church rejected
it in northeastern Mexico because they perceived the day was a result of
syncretizing pagan elements with Catholic Christianity. They held the
traditional 'All Saints' Day' in the same way as other Christians in the world.
This is due to the limited or nonexistent Mesoamerican influence in this
region, and the relatively few indigenous inhabitants from the regions of
Southern Mexico. In the early 21st century in northern Mexico, Día de Muertos
is observed because the Mexican government made it a national holiday by its
educational policies from the 1960s and has tried to use it as a unifying
national tradition in the north of the country.
The Mexican Day of the
Dead celebration is similar to other observances, including the Spanish
tradition in which festivals and parades are frequently held and people often
gather at cemeteries and pray for their deceased loved ones at the end of the
day.
