Day Of The Dead

Day Of The Dead

                                                            

    

History500 years ago, when the Spanish conquistadors landed in the place that is now called Mexico, they found natives practicing a ritual for the dead.

It was ritual that the indigenous people had been practicing for 3,000 years. It was a ritual that the Spanish tried to erase without success.

Today this ritual is called Dia de los Muertos or Day Of The Dead.

History• The majority of Hispanics are Catholics, a part of Christendom.

•Mexicans celebrate Day Of The Dead. It is NOT the same as Halloween.

• Halloween is about scaring away the evil spirits. Day Of The Dead is a religious day very similar to All Saint’s Day& All Soul’s Day. It is about remembering and honoring loved ones who have passed away.

•They don’t fear death; they accept it as part of the cycle of life. They believe that the spirits don’t die. Life on Earth is the dream; life after death is eternal.

Special Days

November 1st: The Little Angels. (children that have died)

November 2nd: The Dead. (adults that have died)

The OfferingThey set a table with a tablecloth decorated with various things. Some of them may include:

decorative cut paper flowers skeletons

skulls candles bread of the dead

incense food candy

A photo water towel

soap salt atole

mole (a thick seasoned drink)

La OfrendaThey set a table with a white tablecloth decorated with various things. Some of them may include:

papel picado cempasúchil esqueletos/calacas

calaveras velas pan de muertos

copal comida favorita dulces

fotos agua toalla

jabón sal atole

(a thick seasoned drink)

The Offering

The offering is made up of four components and two, three, or seven steps:

Earth Heaven Heaven 7 levels

Wind Earth Earth the spirit

Water Underworld must cross

Fire to reach

eternal peace

The Offering= La The Offering= La OfrendaOfrenda

The Cemetary Gravesite

People go to the gravesites of family members or dead friends to clean and decorate their gravesite.

They put a lot of flowers, skeletons, skulls made of sugar, candles, food, candy, etc.

Then, they have a candle-light vigil to remember the spirits of the departed, especially their loved ones.

Preparation for Day Of The Dead begins up to 2 weeks before the celebration.

The Gravesites at The Gravesites at the Cemeterythe Cemetery

(Las tumbas en el (Las tumbas en el Cementerio/PanteónCementerio/Panteón

))

Decorated Tomb (tumba)Decorated Tomb (tumba)

Flowers (Las Flowers (Las flores)flores)

La flor tradicional es el cempasúchilLa flor tradicional es el cempasúchil

Sand pictures = Dibujos de arenaSand pictures = Dibujos de arena

Sand pictures = Dibujos de arenaSand pictures = Dibujos de arena

Bread of the Dead Bread of the Dead (El pan de muertos)(El pan de muertos)

Decoratively Cut Paper Decoratively Cut Paper (El papel picado)(El papel picado)

Sugar Skulls Sugar Skulls (Calaveras de (Calaveras de

azucar)azucar)

Calacas = Skeletons• Depicted as joyous not mournful figures • They wear festive clothing • They dance and play musical instruments to

indicate a happy afterlife • Demonstrates Mexican belief that no dead

soul likes to be thought of sadly, and that death should be a joyous occasion.

• Goes back to Aztec beliefs, one of the few traditions to remain after the Spanish conquest.

Las Calacas = Las Calacas = SkeletonsSkeletons

Music and Dance

The dancers carry calacas (artistic skeletons), pretending that the souls are visiting and doing a dance.

The drums are the most important part of the music associated with the supernatural to cause vitality and rhythm.

CatrinaCatrina is the most recognizable symbol for Day of the Dead. She is now a calacas and was painted by José Guadalupe Posada, a famous artist from Mexico.

Works of José Guadalupe Posada

The EndThe End