Dia De Los Muertos

In many cultures it's believed that on 'All Hallows Eve' the veil between this world and the afterlife becomes so thin that the dead are able to make the transition back to this world for the one night. The Hispanic/Latino/Mexican Community, as well as many cultures still embracing the 'old religions' take 'All Hallows Eve' as an opportunity to honor their dearly departed, their ancestors, their history. The Catholic Church has embraced this to the point of creating 'All Souls Day' on the 1st of November, the day after Halloween (All Hallows Eve), to still honor the dead but take it completely away from any type of Pagan or Wiccan type of celebration. The Catholic Church says it's OK to honor the dead, but let's just keep it nice & sanitary in more of a theoretical way as opposed to a physical one.

Let's look at a little history to get a better understanding of how important this Remembrance is and how it is gaining popularity outside of the Hispanic/Latino/Mexican Community.

To study Dia de los Muertos history is to step back in time 4000 years. These days we think of Dia de los Muertos as a "Mexican holiday", but the origins of the Day of the Dead can actually be traced back several millennia before Mexico even existed as a country.The Spanish invaded Mexico in 1519 - but we need to step back even further to understand Dia de los Muertos history.

Before the Spanish invasion, many indigenous cultures rose and fell in the land now known as Mexico: the Olmecs, the Mayans, and the Aztecs were just some of these Mesoamerican civilizations that flourished for nearly 40 centuries.Although there were several different civilizations rising and falling over those 4000 years, they all shared a common thread: a belief in the afterlife. When people died, they didn't cease to exist – instead, their soul carried on to the afterworld.

The belief in the cyclical nature of life and death resulted in a celebration of death, rather than a fear of death. Death was simply a continuance of life, just on another plane of existence. Dia de los Muertos history can be traced back to these indigenous beliefs of the afterlife.Once a year the Aztecs held a festival celebrating the death of their ancestors, while honoring the goddess Mictecacihuatl, Queen of the Underworld, or Lady of the Dead. The Aztecs believed that the deceased preferred to be celebrated, rather than mourned, so during the festival they first honored los angelitos, the deceased children, then those who passed away as adults. The Mictecacihuatl festival lasted for an entire month, starting around the end of July to mid-August (the 9th month on the Aztec calendar), during the time of corn harvests.

After the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs in 1521, they tried to make the Aztecs adopt their Catholic beliefs. They didn't understand the Aztec belief system and didn't try to. As Catholics, they thought that the Aztecs were pagan barbarians and tried their best to squash the old Aztec rituals and fully convert the indigenous people over to their Catholic beliefs… but they failed.

What they accomplished was more like a compromise; a blend of beliefs. The Spanish conquerors succeeding in shortening the length of the Mictecacihuatl festival to two days that conveniently corresponded with two of their own Catholic holidays: All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, which take place on November 1 and 2 of each year.The Spanish convinced the indigenous people to attend special masses on those two days to commemorate the dead, as they tried to shift the original Dia de los Muertos history and meaning to suit their own Catholic purpose. However, the native folk customs and traditions prevailed. Over the centuries, these traditions transformed into the present Day of the Dead, bestowing Dia de los Muertos with the color, flavor, and fervor that has made it a world-famous holiday.

Even the old Aztec Goddess Mictecacihuatl found a new identity as the modern "Catrina" – the lanky, skeletal female figure usually shown bedecked in sumptuous clothing and giant ornate hats, who serves as a reminder that death is a fate that even the rich can't avoid.As a holiday, Day of the Dead continues to evolve. With the spread of Mexicans into other countries, such as the US and Canada, many more communities are adopting the Day of the Dead, so that it now contains even more multicultural overtones. Thanks to the Internet, many more people are able to learn about this holiday and celebrate Day of the Dead in their own way, inspired by Mexican traditions.

 Ok! Are you with me so far? Let's see if we can answer some of the questions that might be percolating at this point.

What's the difference between 'Dia De Los Muertos' and 'Halloween"?
 Día de los Muertos , also known as "Día de Muertos," or "Day of the Dead" in English, is a holiday with Mexican origins that is celebrated from Midnight on October 31st through Midnight on November 2nd. While some imagery (Skeletons, Angels, Devils, Etc.) might be close to that of Halloween, there are significant differences between the two. Día de los Muertos is a day to celebrate death or, more specifically, the deceased, while on Halloween, death is seen as something to be feared. Día de los Muertos has both indigenous origins from the Aztec festival for Mictecacihuatl, The Lady of The Dead, and Catholic origins from the Spanish conquistadors’ All Saints and All Souls Day.

Why is it a multi-day Holiday?

 Yes, the original Aztec holiday was actually a month long event, but when the Spanish conquistadores arrived and turned Mexico Catholic, the celebration became intertwined with All Saints Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2). Traditionally, Nov. 1 is when you welcome the souls of children that have passed away, known as Día de los Inocentes (Day of the Innocents) or Día de los Angelitos (Day of the Little Angels). Nov. 2 is when the adult souls arrive. 

 

 

 How do you 'celebrate' the dead?

Those who celebrate Día de los Muertos will usually put up altars honoring those members of the family who have passed away. They decorate the altars with candles, sugar skulls, marigolds, food, beverages and clothes. These offerings, or "ofrendas," are gifts for the dead and are usually a combination of his or her favorite things. Like the holiday itself, the altar also has mixed imagery of both indigenous and Catholic background. The graves of the deceased are also visited and honored with offerings as well as vigils. 

 

 

 What is up with all the skulls?

Skulls are everywhere during Día de los Muertos. The origins trace back to the pre-Hispanic era, when they were kept as trophies and used during rituals. The most recognized skull on Dia de los Muertos is the Calavera Catrina. The image as we know it today originated with José Guadalupe Posada, a Mexican Artist who depicted a fancy female skeleton as a dig against the Europhile Mexican elite during the Porfirio Díaz dictatorship. It became an iconic image of the Mexican Revolution at the beginning of the twentieth century.But the actual Catrina is said to have originated thanks to the Aztec tale of Mictecacihuatl, the Lady of the Dead.

SO . . . To sum it all up, Dia De Los Muertos is not a mexican plot to takeover Halloween. It's a celebration to honor the loved ones who have left us and our ancestors who have come before us. It all boils down to a celebration of love between two worlds, two planes of existence.
Goodnight all.