Day of the Dead

This article is about the Mexican holiday. For the film, see Day of the Dead (film)

Sugar skull given and eaten for the Day of the Dead

The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos, Día de los Difuntos or, simply, Día de Muertos in Spanish) is a Mexican celebration of the memory of deceased ancestors. It is celebrated on November 1 and November 2, coinciding with the similar Roman Catholic celebrations of All Saints Day and All Souls Day. While it is primarily viewed as a Mexican holiday, it is also celebrated in communities in the United States with large populations of Mexican-Americans, the Philippines and to a lesser extent elsewhere in some countries of Latin America. It is a public holiday in Brazil, and a large number of people celebrate it there typically by visiting cemeteries and churches, taking flowers, lighting candles, and praying.

Despite the morbid subject matter, this holiday is celebrated joyfully, and though it occurs at the same time as Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day, the mood of The Day of the Dead is much lighter, with the emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, rather than fearing evil or malevolent spirits.

History

The origins of the celebration of The Day of the Dead in Mexico can be traced back to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, such as the Aztec, Maya, Purepecha, Nahual and Totonac.

Rituals celebrating the lives of dead ancestors had been performed by these Mesoamerican civilizations for at least 3,000 years. It was common practice to keep skulls as trophies and display them during rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.

The festival which was to become Día de Muertos fell on the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar, near the start of August, and was celebrated for the entire month. Festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl, known as the "Lady of the Dead". The festivities were dedicated to the celebration of children and the lives of dead relatives.

When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in America in the 15th century they were appalled at the indigenous pagan practices, and in an attempt to convert the locals to Roman Catholicism moved the popular festival to the beginning of November to coincide with the Catholic All Saints and All Souls days. All Saints' Day is the day after Halloween, which was in turn based on the earlier pagan ritual of Samhain, the Celtic day and feast of the dead. The Spanish combined their custom of All Souls' Day with the similar Mesoamerican festival, creating the Día de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead. This is an example of syncretism or the blending of a significant event from two different cultural traditions. Indigenous people of the Americas often would outwardly adopt the European rituals, while maintaining their original native beliefs.

Beliefs and customs

The souls of children are believed to return first on November 1, with adult spirits following on November 2.

Altar

Plans for the festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods that will be offered to the dead. During the period of October 31 and November 2 families usually clean and decorate the graves. Wealthier families build altars in their homes, but most simply visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas, or offerings. These include wreaths of an orange marigold (also referred to as Flor de Muerto, the "flower of the dead", in Spanish, or zempoalxochitl, (twenty-flower) in Nahuatl, a term that has been carried into modern Mexican Spanish as cempazúchil), which are thought to attract the souls of the dead toward the offerings; toys, brought for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels); and bottles of tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods and beverages dedicated to the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the deceased eat the spirit of the food, so even though they eat the food from the ofrendas after the festivity, they think it lacks nutritional value. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives.

Some families do build altars or small shrines in their homes. These altars usually have the Christian Cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, flowers such as marigolds, and many, many candles. Traditionally, families may spend some time around the altar telling stories about the deceased relatives as well as spend time praying.

Public schools at all levels build altars with offerings, usually omitting the religious symbols. Government offices usually have at least a small altar, as this holiday is seen as a valuable part of the mexican heritage.

Calavera de la Catrina by José Guadalupe Posada

Those gifted like to write "calaveras" – short poems mocking epitaphs of friends. This custom originated in the 18th-19th century, after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future, "and all of us were dead", proceeding to "read" the tombstones. Newspapers dedicate calaveras to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in the style of José Guadalupe Posada. Theatrical presentations of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817–1893) are also traditional on this day.

A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (colloquially called calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for "skeleton"). Sugar skulls, inscribed with the names of the recipient on the forehead, are often eaten by a relative or friend. Other special foods for Día de Muertos includes pan de muerto (bread of the dead), a sweet egg bread made in many shapes, from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits.

In some parts of the country, children in costumes roam the streets, asking passersby for a "calaverita", a small gift of money; they don't knock on people's doors.

In the Philippines, it is called Araw ng mga Patay (literally, Day of the Dead) or Undas and has more of a "family reunion" atmosphere. It is seen as an opportunity to be with the departed and is done in a somewhat more solemn way. Tombs are cleaned or repainted, candles are lit, and flowers are offered. Since its supposed to be about spending time with dead relatives, families usually camp in cemeteries – with some choosing to spend a night or two near their relatives' tombs. Playing card games, eating, drinking, singing, and dancing are common activities inside the cemetery, apparently to cope with boredom. It is considered a very important holiday by many Filipinos (next in importance to Christmas and Holy Week), and additional days are normally given as special non-working holidays (only November 1 is a regular holiday).

In fiction

• The novel Under the Volcano (1947) by Malcolm Lowry takes place in on this day in a fictionalized Cuernavaca, Morelos.
• In the play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) by Tennessee Williams the Mexican woman selling 'Flores para los muertos' is a symbol of the way death seems to haunt the character of Blanche DuBois.
• The motion picture Bound by Honor (1993) uses the Day of the Dead to emphasize and to illustrate some of its plot points.
• The climax of the animated film The Halloween Tree (1993) occurs after an explanation of the Day of the Dead.
• The 1998 Tim Schafer computer adventure game "Grim Fandango" is set on this day in the land of the dead and includes many allusions to the celebration, including a precession. The main caracter is named "Manuel Calavera", and is an skeleton in a formal suit. The intended title for the game was "Deeds of the Dead".
• Backdrop to an episode from Season 1 of Carnivale.
• The 1998 Babylon 5 episode "Day of the Dead" is centered around an alien tradition with a more literal interpretation of the Mexican holiday's "returning spirits".
• The climax of the motion picture Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) is set amidst a parade that day.
• Barbara Hambly's novel Days Of The Dead (2003) sets its climax on this day in 1835.
• The finale of the second season of Dead Like Me revolves around and includes the myths of this day, such that the reapers (death) appear as they did in life.
• The climax of the 1996 motion picture The Crow: City of Angels takes place during the Day of the Dead.
• The film Assassins, starring Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas, has a scene that takes place during a Día de los Muertos procession. This scene is inaccurate, since Puerto Rico, the place where the scene is set, does not celebrate el Día de los Muertos.
• In the novel The Grey King by Susan Cooper, a rhyme states that Will Stanton's quest will begin "On the day of the dead, when the year too dies". However this Day of the Dead draws upon Celtic mythology in reference to the calendar.
• The renowned Mexican motion picture Macario starts on this day. In this movie, poor farmer Macario meets Death himself, and receives a gift from him.
• The 2005 film Corpse Bride was also influenced by this holiday. In it, the dead live in a world of their own, resembling the one they had in life.

References

1. Brandes, Stanley. “The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the Quest for Mexican National Identity.” Journal of American Folklore 442 (1998) : 359-80.
2. Carmichael, Elizabeth. Sayer, Chloe. The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico. Great Britain: The Bath Press, 1991.
3. Conklin, Paul. “Death Takes A Holiday.” U.S. Catholic 66 (2001) : 38-41.
4. Garcia-Rivera, Alex. “Death Takes a Holiday.” U.S. Catholic 62 (1997) : 50.
5. Miller, Carlos. Day of the Dead – History. 1 Nov 2004. < http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/history/ >
6. Roy, Ann. “A Crack Between the Worlds.” Commonwealth 122 (1995) : 13-16

External links

• MEXonline: Day of the Dead Holiday
• Day of the Dead
• Photos and background of Day of the Dead