EL DIA DE MUERTOS: The Day of the Dead
In
the town of DIA DE MUERTOS. This
is an ancient festivity that has been much transformed through the years,
but which was intended in pre-Hispanic The original celebration can be traced to many Mesoamerican native traditions, such as the festivities held during the Aztec month of Miccailhuitontli, ritually presided by the "Lady of the Dead" (Mictecacihuatl), and dedicated to children and the dead. In the Aztec calendar, this ritual fell roughly at the end of the Gregorian month of July and the beginning of August, but in the post conquest era it was moved by Spanish priests so that it coincided with the Christian holiday of All Hallows Eve (in Spanish: "Día de Todos Santos.") This was a vain effort to transform the observance from a profane to a Christian celebration. The result is that Mexicans now celebrate the day of the dead during the first two days of November, rather than at the beginning of summer. But remember the dead they still do, and the modern festivity is characterized by the traditional Mexican blend of ancient aboriginal and introduced Christian features. Generalizing broadly, the holiday's activities consist of families (1) welcoming their dead back into their homes, and (2) visiting the graves of their close kin. At the cemetery, family members engage in sprucing up the gravesite, decorating it with flowers, setting out and enjoying a picnic, and interacting socially with other family and community members who gather there. In both cases, celebrants believe that the souls of the dead return and are all around them. Families remember the departed by telling stories about them. The meals prepared for these picnics are sumptuous, usually featuring meat dishes in spicy sauces, chocolate beverages, cookies, sugary confections in a variety of animal or skull shapes, and a special egg-batter bread ("pan de muerto," or bread of the dead). Gravesites and family altars are profusely decorated with flowers (primarily large, bright flowers such as marigolds and chrysanthemums), and adorned with religious amulets and with offerings of food, cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. Because of this warm social environment, the colorful setting, and the abundance of food, drink and good company, this commemoration of the dead has pleasant overtones for the observers, in spite of the open fatalism exhibited by all participants, whose festive interaction with both the living and the dead in an important social ritual is a way of recognizing the cycle of life and death that is human existence. In
homes observant families create an altar and decorate it with items that
they believe are beautiful and attractive to the souls of their departed
ones. Such items include offerings of flowers and food, but also things
that will remind the living of the departed (such as their photographs,
a diploma, or an article of clothing), and the things that the dead prized
and enjoyed while they lived. This is done to entice the dead and assure
that their souls actually return to take part in the remembrance. In very
traditional settings, typically found only in native communities, the
path from the street to the altar is actually strewn with petals to guide
the returning soul to its altar and the bosom of the family.The traditional
observance calls for departed children to be remembered during the first
day of the festivity (the Day of the Little Angels, "Día de los Angelitos"),
and for adults to be remembered on the second day. Traditionally, this
is accompanied by a feast during the early morning hours of November the
2nd, the Day of the Dead proper, though modern urban Mexican families
usually observe the Day of the Dead with only a special family supper
featuring the bread of the dead. In southern In
general, the more urban the setting within The
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