Dia De Los Muertos By: Rigo Balcazar

What is El Dia De Los Muertos? El Día de los Muertos is an important celebration in Mexico that is slowly making its way up north into the Southwestern United States. It began as a month-long Aztec celebration of the dead. When the Spaniards arrived they wanted to convert the Aztecs to Catholicism and so they began to celebrate El Día de los Muertos on November 2nd, All Hallows’ Eve. It is similar to Memorial Day in remembering the dead, but otherwise it is very different, more festive like Halloween. It is believed that the dead come back briefly to celebrate with their loved ones. Altars are built to honor the dead. Grave sites are visited. In some areas of Mexico people dress up as skeletons and parade in the street.

The Day Of The Year Of Dia De Los Muertos And The Significance The beginning of Dia De Los Muertos stars on November 1st and goes through the 2nd. The candles are so the loved ones on the other side can find you. I guess they are like a beacon. The skeletons are just a symbol of the day. They are usually painted to be colorful and smiling, because in Hispanic culture we do not look at death as a horrible and sad thing. We use these days to celebrate the cycle of life and death and to honor the memory of our loved ones.

How Old Is The Day Of The Dead And Who Started It The Day of the Dead started in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the god known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the modern Catrina. In Mexico they celebrated in November 1 and 2. November 1 honors children and infants which makes it “Dia De Los Inocentes.” November the second honors adults which makes it “Dia De Los Muertos.”

Dia De Los Muertos And Halloween Día de los Muertos is a Mexican celebration that honors the dead by making an altar in your home with pictures of your dearly departed friends and family, with their favorite things as a reminder of them in life. It is common to put food and drink on the altar, as well as other things, like favorite personal objects, cigarettes if they smoked, etc. The altar is also decorated with flowers called cempazuchitl, a special bread called Pan de Muerto and small skulls made out of sugar. Many skulls are also painted with the name of the living, who then eat their own sugar skull, as a way to laugh at death. In some areas, a place is set for the dead at the dinner table with a plate of food that nobody eats, as it is for the dead. This tradition is rarer now a days. The only similarity to Halloween, I think, is the mocking of something that is frightening to us. Halloween mocks various monsters that we might fear, while Day of the Dead, in certain aspects, mocks Death itself.

How I Would Celebrate Day Of The Dead And Who Is It Honor For Build An Altar With Favorite Foods And Trinkets That My Grandma Liked When She Was Living I Would Visit The Grave Of My Grandma Prepare A Special Dinner I Think Is Important To Remember Your Loved Ones That Have Passed On Because They Were In Your Life And They Helped You Out A lot. You Can Never Forget Someone Who Was Always There For You.