Death Rituals and Day of the Dead in Modern Day Mexico Day of the Dead is a holiday that is most often associated with Mexico since they decorate this holiday with beautifully decorated sugar skulls, offerings to the dead, and skull face paintings. The origins of Day of the Dead in Mexico are not very well known since the holiday is based on Catholicism, but the holiday is celebrated differently compared to other Catholic communities. The origins of Day of the Dead may be influenced by the Aztecs, the colonialization of Mexico (), or the classic story of “La Katrina” (). Literature Review El Día de los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead is celebrated throughout Mexico from October twenty-eight to November eight. The most important dates are …show more content…
It is noted that these holidays are celebrated in a larger extent in Mexico than other Catholic communities. To Vatican’s there is only one thing that is important about these holidays and that is the celebration of special Masses on the first of November to honor the saints, and on November the second, to honor the souls in Purgatory. These masses have been celebrated since the medieval times, and was officially celebrated on the first of November when Pope Gregory VII decided to not celebrate the holiday on May the thirteenth. For All Saints Day (November the second), “the Office for the Dead and Requiem Masses are celebrated in sympathy with the deceased… [to] attain final purification.” Day of the Dead is based on these two Catholic holidays only the Masses is a part of the Mexican celebration, and even then, the Masses is not considered a huge part of Day of the Dead (Brandes, …show more content…
This integration of taking something old and changing it to what it is currently is shown with the legend of La Llorona. This legend is often shown on Day of the Dead. La Llorona is a figure of ‘the wailing woman,’ a woman that wears white who cries at the loss of her children, whom she killed because she found out that her lover left her for another woman. This figure is believed to exist as two different Aztec goddesses. During the colonial times, La Llorona was an indigenous woman whose Spanish lover left her for a European woman. Later versions of La Llorona included mestizo and indigenous woman, and currently La Llorona is a traitor that passes information to the Spaniards (Fuller,
In an essay by Carrasco titled “The Exaggeration of Human Sacrifice," the purpose of nextlaoalli seemed logical, as it was believed that the gods had died in order to create the lives of plants, animals and humans, and that a ritual sacrifice of plants, animals, and humans offered a way to transmit the energy of these beings back to the gods. These types of sacrifices arguably played a minute role in the actual rituals performed to appease the gods, but rather it was in combination with the regalia and practices of the priests which contributed to the overall “barbaric” atmosphere Díaz experienced in these sacrificial rituals. Although viewed by the Spaniards as cannibalistic and obscure in nature, these rituals formed a pivotal function in the religious culture of both Tenochtitlan and the Aztec empire. The true purpose of nextlaoalli was misconstrued because of the numerous biases present among the collective Spanish mindset, and therefore these rituals became a target for the Spaniards to denounce the established religion under pretenses that it was paganistic, and therefore
The infamous "Day of the Dead" or dia de los muertos actually takes place over a period of 2 days. It is the largest and most elaborate celebration in mexico all year long, its even bigger than Christmas. In the past, this period marked the time when the deceased could return to the world of the living and visit their loved ones, but now it is usually a time to celebrate, remember, and pray for their souls.
El Dia de los Muertos was brought to the United States when Mexican-Americans underwent a cultural reawakening in the early 1970s. The holiday's popularity has since spread to other races and cultures. The Day of the Dead celebrates life past and present, and not just death alone. Revelers construct ofrendas, the offerings of food, drinks, cigarettes, toys, and candy, set out for returning souls. Revelers take joy in honoring the dead, usually with music, dancing, crafts and food.
...parts of the celebration, October 31st, November 1st, and finally November 2nd. On October 31st, it is seen that the kid’s souls return. November 1st is considered the adult’s day of returning, and November 2nd is when all souls have returned from the dead and there is a big celebration. People of Mexico celebrate by making many baked goods and cooking meals, making objects such as masks and decorating papers and toy coffins to prepare for the return of the souls.
In my opinion, I find this holiday really interesting. For one reason, this celebration dated way back to pre-Hispanic cultures of Mesoamerica, in the region of Nahu more than 3,000 years ago. It all started after the Spaniards and it lasted for almost 5 centuries later. In the Nahu region, there are the Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecas, Tlaxcaltecs, ChiChimecs, and Tecpanec. For the Aztecs they celebrate the death of each king or ruler. They also honor or dedicate Dia de Los Muertos to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. After centuries of long celebration and unchange trad...
During the week, we watched the movie, La Otra Conquista. The movie is historically based on the journey of Hernando Cortes and his conquistadors to the New World. On the journey, the conquistadors traveled to Mexico to conquer the Aztec empire. Topiltzin and Dona Isabel were children of the great emperor of the Aztec Empire, Moctezuma. His half-sister, Dona Isabel was in a relationship with Hernando Cortes. In the beginning of movie, the scene was the aftermath of a war. Majority of the Aztecs died including the emperor. The conquistadors were astonished by the ritual, the Aztecs performed. In the ritual, the Aztecs sacrificed Topiltzin’s mother to the sun goddess by removing her organs. The conquistadors immediately implemented the Aztecs
One of the traditions used on the day of the dead is sugar skulls. The skulls are commonly used to represent their loved ones bones, and the skeleton also can be seen mocking the living. The relatives of the past decorate the graves into altars, where they place skulls, paper decorations, and food, while staying at a night long vigil.
This cultural diffusion has created several misconceptions in the global world. Many people believe that the Dia De Los Muertos festival is a Halloween festival, instead of a celebration of lost loved ones. The decorated skulls also tend to through people off, but it is actually a folk tradition started by the Aztecs, but has found a way to diffuse itself into modern popular culture around the world (“5 Dia De Los Muertos…” 2). All of the folk culture and pop culture of the Dia De Los Muertos festival has the ability to change ones view on death. Those who celebrate this festival tend to view death as a privilege. Death is also seen as something to be celebrated instead of mourned, because those who have died have found eternity. The idea that once a year deceased family members can come back to visit their loved ones once a year give a sense of comfort to those who participate in this traditional festival. The traditions of this folk festival strengthen family and celebrate the lives of those who have lived before
The origins of Día de los Muertos travel back to previous pre-Hispanic indigenous beliefs as well as Spanish Catholic beliefs.
December 12: Dia de nuestra senora de guadalupe , or the day of the Virgin of Guadalupe is celebrated with a feast honoring Mexico's patron saint.The Story behind this celebration demonstrates how the Catholic faith gained importance in the hearts of the Mexican people. It is a story of miracles and faith which mark a change in the history of Mexico.The Spaniards, after they conquered Mexico, had in mind the goal of converting the indigenous indians into Catholicism. But the Spaniards encountered many difficulties because the Mexican people had existing strong beliefs in their many gods. It wasn't until the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe and Juan Diego that this started to change.Juan Diego was a young indigenous Indian walking toward the
why? The Mexican holiday is still celebrated in Mexico, but the local tributes appear to
Although the Day of the Dead is considered to be an American custom, the reality is that this festivity originated during the era of the Aztec empire. During this summer
All Souls Day, November 2nd, does anyone really understand why it is a holy day or is it just another meaningless holiday Catholics are asked to attend church? All Souls Day is a day that the Catholic Church has set aside to help pray for all the souls not yet joined with god. During this day, people are asked to pray for all of the departed who have passed on and are now in purgatory working very hard to have the privilege of joining to god.
There are different traditions from me and my friends for example, Christmas is coming up and America celebrates it different from Mexico I will be explaining on food, decorations,and traditions. Food in america during christmas time there is custards cookies cakes and pies and for christmas dinner there is turkey mashed potatoes on the side and some sort of dessert. Tradition children leave cookies out for santa claus christmas eve santa visits in christmas eve to leave presents christmas eve is the night before it is a celebration of food family friends instead of religion. Christmas in mexico the food is tamales
Sacred days and holidays are dedicated to gods and spirits. In these days, rituals are also performed. Sunday is the sacred day for Christians , Passover is for Jewish, Ramadan is the sacred holiday for Islam and Diwali is for Hindus.