The big day of the holiday claendar is coming up, Halloween, or Dia de Muertos, Day of the Dead, as it is called down here. It is a huge celebration that lasts for days. There are skeletons dressed up in different outfits around everywhere. These things can be found all year, but there are so many more right now. There are so many things in stores like this to purchase. It all has to deal with how they view death. I am attaching an explanation of the holiday so you will be able to understand the things I will be posting in the next few days.
DAY OF THE DEAD IN MEXICO
DIA DE MUERTOS
One of the most typical and well-known celebrations in the entire Mexican territory is without a doubt the Day of the Dead celebration. Throughout the country, in both small isolated towns and in large cities, the Mexican people pay tribute to the dead and to the departed. These festivities are the result of an inter-marriage of the way our indigenous ancestors and the Catholic religion from our Spanish roots viewed death.
The Days of the Dead are celebrated with a mixture of reverence for the departed, revelry to make them happy upon their return, and mockery to defy the fear of death itself. Though details vary from region to region, the basic rituals remain strong: receiving the spirits of the dead at home, offering them food and drink, and communing with them beside their grave. On October 27, the spirits of those with no survivors to greet them and no home to visit are received in some villages with bread and jugs of water hung outside the houses; on October 28, those who died by accident, murder or other violent means are offered food and drink, placed outside the home to keep out the bad spirits of these as-yet unpardoned souls. On the night of October 31, the dead children come home to visit; by midday November 1st, they too must be gone. Bells ring through that afternoon as the adults, or the Faithful Dead, arrive. The family formally greets the adult who has passed away most recently, and through him, the other ancestors are acknowledged. At sundown, the family moves to the graveyard for an all night vigil of communion with the dead. Candles are lit on the gravestones, one for each lost soul. By evening on November 2, the party is over and the ghosts return to the world of the dead.
Most Mexican houses will commemorate their dead by making an Altar and depending on the region the order of the elements will be different. The Otomi altar consists of four levels representing the four seasons. The one in the bottom will be white for winter and there will be seeds and water representing earth. The second level will be blue representing spring, and the offering will be fruit. The third level will be red representing summer, the offerings will be any kind of food. The fourth and most important will be orange representing Autumn. In this level you will find an owl to guide the souls back, a snake representing fertility, a shell to call the spirits with music and a turtle symbolizing eternity. In the center will be a cross made with the cepazuchil flower; on the right an image of Christ and on the left the Virgin Mary. There will be candles depending on the number of departed family, and the candles represent light. There should be a mirror for the reflection of the soul, together with favourite different items that the departed used. There is also a bowl of salt that means purification and of course the paper representing the wind.
DAY OF THE DEAD IN MEXICO
DIA DE MUERTOS
One of the most typical and well-known celebrations in the entire Mexican territory is without a doubt the Day of the Dead celebration. Throughout the country, in both small isolated towns and in large cities, the Mexican people pay tribute to the dead and to the departed. These festivities are the result of an inter-marriage of the way our indigenous ancestors and the Catholic religion from our Spanish roots viewed death.
The Days of the Dead are celebrated with a mixture of reverence for the departed, revelry to make them happy upon their return, and mockery to defy the fear of death itself. Though details vary from region to region, the basic rituals remain strong: receiving the spirits of the dead at home, offering them food and drink, and communing with them beside their grave. On October 27, the spirits of those with no survivors to greet them and no home to visit are received in some villages with bread and jugs of water hung outside the houses; on October 28, those who died by accident, murder or other violent means are offered food and drink, placed outside the home to keep out the bad spirits of these as-yet unpardoned souls. On the night of October 31, the dead children come home to visit; by midday November 1st, they too must be gone. Bells ring through that afternoon as the adults, or the Faithful Dead, arrive. The family formally greets the adult who has passed away most recently, and through him, the other ancestors are acknowledged. At sundown, the family moves to the graveyard for an all night vigil of communion with the dead. Candles are lit on the gravestones, one for each lost soul. By evening on November 2, the party is over and the ghosts return to the world of the dead.
Most Mexican houses will commemorate their dead by making an Altar and depending on the region the order of the elements will be different. The Otomi altar consists of four levels representing the four seasons. The one in the bottom will be white for winter and there will be seeds and water representing earth. The second level will be blue representing spring, and the offering will be fruit. The third level will be red representing summer, the offerings will be any kind of food. The fourth and most important will be orange representing Autumn. In this level you will find an owl to guide the souls back, a snake representing fertility, a shell to call the spirits with music and a turtle symbolizing eternity. In the center will be a cross made with the cepazuchil flower; on the right an image of Christ and on the left the Virgin Mary. There will be candles depending on the number of departed family, and the candles represent light. There should be a mirror for the reflection of the soul, together with favourite different items that the departed used. There is also a bowl of salt that means purification and of course the paper representing the wind.
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