Dia De Los Muertos Thesis

A long time ago more than 500 years ago, there were Spanish Conquistadors who had landed in what is now referred to as central Mexico. Once here they stumbled upon populations of natives who were performing a customary celebration that appeared to simulate death. Dia de los Muertos initiated periods in the past in Mexico, where it is still commonly celebrated to this generation. This festival that takes place over 3 days is a assortment of pre-Hispanic ethnic views and Spanish Catholic philosophies. The Mexican celebration of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, proceeds over the initial 2 days in the month of November. Its beginnings are a concoction of Native American behaviors and a set of Catholic celebrations. The celebration concentrates

on get-togethers of family and friends to pray for and reminisce those members who have passed away. Sugar skulls represent an embodied departed soul, it will have the name written on the forehead and positioned in the home’s alter as an ofrenda or at the tombstone to honor the coming back of a specific soul. Sugar skull art reveals the folk art stylishness of big happy grins, flamboyant icing and shimmering tin and dazzling decorations. Most folks celebrate the Day of the Dead out of affection and obligation to their treasured ones, but some people celebrate this day out of horror. Mexico is widespread with folk tales that tell what transpires if somebody mistreatment their bloodlines on Dia de los Muertos.
In Mexico the vibrant, much awaited, Day of the Dead celebrations are commonly celebrated in the states from Mexico City south. This includes Michoacán, Mexico, Puebla, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Chiapas and the Yucatan. Northern Mexico, with its less indigenous and more European roots, spend the day scrubbing graves and going to mass not having music, drinks and parties in the cemeteries. Folks in parts of Italy, Spain, Central & South America and the Philippines all celebrate All Souls and All Saints Day on November 1st and 2nd. Special Masses and perhaps cleaning of the cemetery tombs are part of the traditional activities. It’s only in Central and Southern Mexico where the colorful parties take place in the cemeteries and elaborate ofrenda altars are built in the homes to honor specific family members who have passed on. The Day of the Dead is celebrated in both public and private spaces. It is most often celebrated in homes and graveyards.
In homes, people create altars to honor their deceased loved ones. In some places it is common to allow guests to enter the house to view the altar. In graveyards, families clean the graves of their loved ones, which they then decorate with flowers, photos, candles, foods and drinks. People stay up all night in the graveyards, socializing and telling funny stories about their dead ancestors. Musicians are hired to stroll through the graveyard, playing the favorite songs of the dead. In the public sphere, Day of the Dead celebrations can also take the form of street parties, parades, and festivals on university campuses.
People celebrate Dia de los Muertos to honor their deceased loves ones.

It is a loving ritual, full of joy and remembrance. For those who did not grow up in a culture that celebrates such a celebration, these practices and rituals might seem odd. But bear in mind that in the US, it is common for people to visit the graves of their family members and friends who have left this earth, to leave flowers and to reconnect with their loved ones. Dia de los Muertos is similar to this common American practice, so you can see that the Day of the Dead is not that unusual. Dia de los Muertos allows the dead to live again. During this time it is believed that the deceased return to their earthly homes to visit and rejoice with their loved ones. The Days of the Dead are celebrated as a way of retaining connections with the unseen world a world we will all return to one

day.
There are some people in Mexico who participate in Dia de los Muertos out of fear and superstition instead of love. If a spirit returns to find that no one has built an altar for them, or that their loved ones only left them paltry offerings, they will feel sad and angry, especially when they see what generous offerings to other spirits that have received them. Neglected spirits may seek vengeance on those who have forgotten them. Additionally, many folk tales describe how those who ignore their deceased loved ones fall immediately ill and even meet their death shortly after the celebration.
Although the ritual has since been merged with Catholic theology, it still maintains the basic principles of the Aztec ritual, such as the use of skulls.

Even though the Day of the Dead and Halloween are both offshoots of all Saints' and all Souls' Days, their tone couldn't be more diverse. Halloween's images of skeletons and spirits emphasize on the frightening, gruesome, and ghoulish parts of the celebration. Society jolts, if delightfully, at the alleged terrifying spirits intimidating the living realm. On Day of the Dead, the focus isn't on personal menacing spooks, it's on celebrating with one's family alive and dead and recalling those who are no longer alive. It's on seeing death as another phase succeeding existence, rather being confronted with

fright.