Feast of the Dead. Day of the Dead in Mexico. When is Day of the Dead celebrated in Mexico?
There is one mysterious and ancient tradition, listed by UNESCO as the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, which has inspired many artists, historians and anthropologists who have observed it. It's the Day of the Dead in Mexico. Find out more about this magical date and where is the best place to celebrate this holiday.
The origins of the Day of the Dead date back to pre-Hispanic times. In the ancient Mexican cultures of the Aztecs, Maya, Purepepecha and Totonac, the ideas of life and death were always interconnected, one could not exist without the other. As a result, many customs have arisen.
For example, Indian peoples kept the skulls of the dead and used them in their ceremonies as symbols of death and rebirth. Death was present in all forms of self-expression and this tradition has survived to this day.
In Aztec times, the festival was celebrated for a month in August. The goddess Mictlancihuatl was the queen of the dead, an analogue of the current Katrina (female skeleton personifying death). The festival was dedicated to the memory of departed relatives and children.
When the Spanish conquistadors arrived here in the 16th century, they treated the holiday with respect, but moved it to the beginning of November, which coincided with the Catholic Day of All Saints.
All Saints' Day comes just after Halloween, a festival derived from the Celtic Samhain, also associated with the dead. Thus, the Spanish evangelists combined all these traditions, from which the modern Day of the Dead came about.
However, the celebrations in different regions of the country differ from each other. Since Mexico is a multicultural state, every city, nationality and social group adds its own elements to the Day of the Dead. That is why it cannot be called a single Catholic holiday, it is rather the result of a mixture of European and indigenous cultures, which are innumerable in the country.
According to beliefs, the souls of children return to our world on November 1, but the main celebrations take place the next day, when the souls of adults come. Early in the morning, families go to cemeteries to decorate the graves of relatives with amazing altars, which, according to legend, help souls return to the right path.
Altars and graves are decorated with candles and calendula flowers so that souls do not wander in the dark. Mexicans also bring items related to the deceased: children's favorite toys, paintings, favorite foods, drinks, flowers, etc.
Often on the altar you can find sugar skulls with the names of the dead and the traditional “bread of the dead”, which is made from sweet dough with stripes symbolizing the bones. Many families also set up altars at home and honor their deceased loved ones there.
In addition, Mexicans write calavera poems in which Katrina ridicules the living, noting their shortcomings, and dooms them to death. Every year newspapers publish poems dedicated to politicians and other celebrities.
In general, attitudes towards death in Mexico are multifaceted. It is solemn and festive, and despite many jokes, death is treated with respect and religious reverence. All this can be seen during the Day of the Dead.
In Mexico City, it is customary to celebrate the holiday on a grand scale, and it is best to do this in San Andres Mishquik or Xochimilco. The first is a small and ancient town south of the capital. Thousands of people come to the local cemetery on November 1 and 2 with candles, flowers, sugar skulls and delicious food. Mariachis also come with them to cheer up. Mexicans open the doors of houses so that the souls of the dead can enter the premises and be comforted by altars in their honor.
In Xochimilco, there is a wonderful performance, which can be enjoyed from the board of a traditional wooden trachinera boat.
In the evening, you need to swim through the canals to a small island where the popular Mexican legend about the Weeper is played. Along the way, you will see that the courtyards of the houses are decorated with candles and bright altars, and you will hear the aromas of flowers and the “bread of the dead.
Among other things, streets, squares, museums and churches are decorated with altars. At this time, there are many competitions for the best altar and various kinds of performances. In early November, all of Mexico is filled with Katrina, marigold flowers, colorful flags, skulls, skeletons and other items related to the holiday.
And these are just a few reasons why you should not miss the ancient festival in the capital of Mexico. This is one of the most surrealistic festivals in the world, the liveliest celebration of death is not to be imagined, it is worth seeing.
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500 years of Catholic propaganda, crossbreeding with the religious calendar, even a complete ban on holding, and all down the drain. Day of the Dead (Dia de Los Muertos) is still the most national, distinctive and pagan holiday in Mexico.
Party at the graveyard
The cemetery of the Mexican town of Santa Cruz-Jojocotlán is cordoned off by police cars. All parking spaces are occupied for several kilometers around. People flock to the entrance in dense merry rows and dissolve into the twilight, punctuated by the gleam of candles and the flashes of tourist cameras.
Inside, thousands of flickering lights illuminate festive pictures in rows and constellations. White spots on men's shirts, colored ribbons in the braids of older Indian women, lace women's blouses. Crosses and tombstones, strewn with a dense carpet of yellow petals, decorated with wreaths and bouquets of marigolds, filled with sweets, food, strong drinks, photographs, toys and souvenirs.
Tonight is the night from October 31 to November 1, the beginning of the main national holiday- Day of the Dead. Over the next two days, everything in Mexico will be turned upside down. The night will become day, the cemetery will become the most popular place in the city, the living people will dress up as the dead, and the dead will sort of come to life again. And together with everyone they will have fun, remember the past and teach the living not to be afraid of death, because it is not the end, but the continuation of the path, as the Mayans, Aztecs, Mixtecs, Zapotecs and other pre-Hispanic civilizations said about it. Therefore, a mandatory night trip to the cemetery is not a sad wake, but a long-awaited meeting with relatives: an opportunity to spend time with them, and at the same time eat well, drink, listen to music and have fun.
Photo: Konstantin Kalishko, kalishko.com
Each grave has its own family idyll. The men are talking. Mom bustles around, pouring mezcal (agave moonshine) and spreading snacks on gravestones. Grandmother tells anecdotes from the life of the deceased. Daughters with bows that have moved to one side, dressed up as witches, play hide and seek and tag. The younger sleeps, leaning over his dad's shoulder, black and white makeup smeared all over his face. He does not wake up even at the approach of vociferous mariachis - street musicians who sing the favorite songs of the deceased on request. On this night, mariachis will sing until the morning and make half a year's revenue.
sugar shells
The Spanish missionaries tried to give the Indian holiday a gracious look, timed to coincide with Christian Day commemoration of all the dead and All Saints' Day. They managed to achieve the abolition of bloody sacrifices and reduce the monthly revelry to three days. But to replace joy with sorrow and a skull (the main holiday symbol) - with a cross did not work.
Skulls and skeletons are everywhere. In windows, doors, on balconies, on the streets, painted on the ground, on walls, on clothes. Sugar skulls-calaveras dominate, smiling and painted in cheerful colors. Arranged in beautiful pyramids on supermarket windows, they resemble the Aztec tzompantli - walls of the skulls of the vanquished, which once stood in every Indian city as decoration, intimidation for enemies and a beloved symbol of life and death as an inseparable pair. And don't be surprised if a skull with your name is given to you at the celebration - it's from the bottom of your heart. They are given to family members and friends. Children prefer chocolate and marzipan or in the form of lollipops.
But the main purpose of the calavera is to decorate the altar. An altar with offerings should be in every home, and in recent years they have been made everywhere: in squares, in schools, shops, police stations, hospitals, restaurants, hotels and airports. Otherwise, according to Mexican beliefs, the dead will be upset and may cause trouble.
Usually the altar is an arch of yellow marigolds, flowers of death, fruits and bright ribbons. A table or podium is set under the arch, on which compositions of sugar skulls, photographs and offerings are created. Among them are necessarily the sweet white bread of the dead (pan de muerto) and drinks. It is believed that after a long journey "from there" the spirits are especially thirsty. Depending on the personal preferences of the deceased, relatives put a glass of pulque, agave mash, or even a can of Coca-Cola.
Food, personal belongings, and toy skeletons are displayed on the altars, dressed in costumes corresponding to the favorite or professional activities of the deceased: a skeleton football player, an office worker, a newlywed, a priest, a drunkard, a dancer ...
Parade of the Jolly Dead
Photo: Konstantin Kalishko, kalishko.com
Heartfelt night gatherings in cemeteries are a tradition more characteristic of residents of villages and small towns. Residents of the capital increasingly prefer the carnival component of the holiday. And in this there is no equal to the Oaxacans.
Oaxaca de Juarez is a large colonial city in the south of Mexico, the gastronomic and cultural capital. If you are not afraid to be at the epicenter of the Day of the Dead, then you are here - in the city of dancing skeletons, painted skulls, brass bands and mescal-soaked mariachis.
Here they begin to prepare for the holiday a few months in advance. All schools, institutes and local communities are busy creating masks, costumes, life-size puppets. Drawing designs for altars, ordering trucks full of freshly cut marigolds. Musicians conduct daily rehearsals. All in order to joyfully go crazy for three days in front of thousands of tourists filling the city from October 31 to November 2.
As befits an otherworldly phenomenon, the holiday begins closer to the night. On the deserted streets, wandering tambora brass bands, a landmark of Oaxaca, suddenly appear. A huge tuba, trumpets, trombones, drums and Mexican folk instruments create a bravura mix of march, Balkan dashing motifs and Mexican folk melodies. A sound energetic that can raise the dead from the grave, and make the living walk and have fun all night without getting tired.
Wandering bands gather behind them long processions of mummers and just onlookers. Such walking is called a comparsa. Comparsa arises spontaneously and has neither an exact timetable nor a route.
It is impossible to resist musical hypnosis. And I, too, merge with the dancing wild comparsa, cut circles around the city after the orchestras, collide foreheads with the opposite crowd in the central city square of Zócalo, change the orchestra, again go to wind around the city and, fascinated by the noise and rhythm, I come to my senses only on the last night of the holiday .
Photo: Konstantin Kalishko, kalishko.com
In front of me, tired dead, skeletons, devils and witches line up for the last group photo. Death ruins the frame with his scythe. They are trying to push her to the edge. She grumbles but obeys. The photographer orders you to look at the camera and not smile. A frame from Almodovar's films freezes - strange, unreal, bewitching.
In the light of multi-colored lanterns, against the backdrop of an empty church and agave bushes, children and adults dressed in death look at me. For the first time in three days, their faces are serious. The musicians lowered their instruments. The game is over. The festive, mind-clearing madness is gone. The door to the other world is closed until next year. Adios, Mexico!
Traditional sugar calavera recipe
Photo: Konstantin Kalishko, kalishko.com
Ingredients
For the test
- 250 g powdered sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1 st. l. corn syrup (can be replaced with liquid honey with a neutral taste)
- 0.5 st. l. vanilla (it is better to use natural vanilla, not vanillin. Can be replaced with vanilla sugar)
- 40 g cornstarch
To decorate
- colored sugar icing (buy ready-made in tubes or make at home by tinting with food coloring)
- fantasy
Process
Photo: Konstantin Kalishko, kalishko.com
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Sifting powdered sugar |
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In a very clean (fat-free) bowl, mix the protein, corn syrup and vanilla. |
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Gradually add the powdered sugar to the mixture wooden spoon. We mix everything well. If the dough is too crumbly, add a little water. Too wet - add more sugar. |
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Pour a little starch on the board, spread the dough and continue to knead it with your hands until soft and elastic. |
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We put a little corn starch on our palms and roll the right amount of blank balls. After that, we recall the human anatomy and proceed to curly modeling. |
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Leave the figurines to dry overnight. Start painting only after making sure that the figurines are completely dry! |
While part of the planet is actively preparing for Halloween, a training parade (“La Catrina”) was held in Mexico in honor of another surprisingly “terrible” and very original holiday, Dia de Los Muertos - the “Day of the Dead”.
We tell you what kind of game it is and why the holiday is interesting. Go.
1. The Day of the Dead is a centuries-old tradition that could not be eradicated.
The history of the holiday goes back to the Mayans and the Aztecs. Their faith was closely connected with the rituals of death and resurrection. Local residents (before the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards) often kept real skulls of the dead in their houses, as symbols of death and resurrection.
Every year, the Aztecs held a real month of sacrifices (modern August), as a sign of respect for the dead, the underworld and its patroness, the goddess Mictlancihuatl.
The Indians believed that death only marks the transition of a person from one state to another. In other words, death for them is only a transformation, after which the life path does not end.
Despite the fact that the indigenous population of Central America was forcibly converted to Catholicism, it was not possible to eradicate a strong tradition. Neither 500 years of Catholic propaganda, nor interbreeding with the religious calendar, nor soft integration into Christian canons helped.
All that the Catholic Church has managed to do is move the holiday to the first day of November, when the church celebrates All Saints' Day. So-so achievement.
The Day of the Dead remained original pagan holiday, with its symbols and traditions.
2. Modern integration and Day of the Dead symbol
AT modern society Zinc engraving "Calavera Katrina" by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada became the symbol of the Day of the Dead. He depicted a skeletal-faced woman in high society attire and named her "La Calavera de la Catrina", showing that the rich and fashionable are as mortal as anyone else.
Figurines of Katrina have become an integral attribute of the holiday and an excellent Mexican souvenir.
It is believed that this is exactly what the very Mictlancihuatl, in whose honor the Indians made sacrifices, should have looked like.
3. Mexicans have an absolutely friendly relationship with death since childhood.
Modern Mexican children from a young age see images of Katrina, play skeletons, eat playful cakes in the form of coffins and skulls. Game! But in this way, little Mexicans are not afraid of the idea of death, for them it is absolutely normal.
4. Mexicans celebrate the holiday two days in a row
The Day of the Dead is celebrated for two days in a row on November 1 and 2. It is believed that it is on these days that the souls of deceased relatives visit their home. Mexicans on November 1 communicate with the souls of dead children, and the next day - with the souls of adult relatives.
- Nov. 1- Day of the little angels (Día de Angelitos), when the dead children and babies are honored
- November 2- Día de los Muertos - the day when dead adults are commemorated
No mourning and days of mourning. It is believed that this holiday is an excellent occasion to laugh at death and actively enjoy life.
5. Traditions that may shock
On the Day of the Dead, Mexicans prepare altars brightly decorated with flowers in memory of deceased relatives.
Favorite things, food, drinks of a deceased relative, sweets are placed on the pedestals, candles are lit. It is believed that the soul of a deceased relative should remember the taste of earthly dishes. Many put up altars right on the streets, competitions (!) Are held to determine the best pedestal.
Also, altars can be seen in offices, public places on the streets and squares of cities.
Traditional pastry for the holiday - Pan de muerte (Bread of the Dead) - a loaf sprinkled with sugar, on top of which a bread ball symbolizing a skull is baked. A sort of Mexican "cake for the dead."
The culmination of the holiday is a visit to the cemetery. Mexicans arrange there noisy parties with songs and dances. There are also long conversations with deceased relatives and funny facts from the life of the deceased are recalled.
6. Cities of the dead. Not scary
On the days of the holiday, its symbols (skulls and skeletons) are drawn almost everywhere. Most often they are smiling and made in bright festive colors.
On the eve of the holiday in shops in the form of sweets and desserts, you can find various variations of skeletons, skulls and coffins.
In addition, a lot of themed decorations, souvenirs and other attributes of the holiday are sold.
Spectacular street processions, noisy carnivals, impromptu exhibitions and fairs are organized in large cities, and cemetery picnics are organized in small ones.
7. Hollywood and Day of the Dead
"Dead" carnivals have been played up in Hollywood films more than once. One of the most famous is the opening scene in the latest James Bond film Spectre. Exotic entourage and spectacular staging.
In November, a new colorful cartoon by Pixar studio "Coco" will be released on the big screens, in which such an unusual holiday is played up.
"Day of the Dead" is an integral part of the life of every Mexican*.
The Mexican poet Octavio Paz once said: “The Mexican, instead of being afraid of death, seeks her company, teases her, flirts with her. This is his favorite toy and enduring love.” Everyone goes crazy in their own way.
*The holiday is popular in many Latin American countries: Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador.
By the way, in 2003, the holiday "Day of the Dead" was included by UNESCO in the list of intangible cultural heritage of mankind.
This is not a pop Halloween.
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The Day of the Dead is one of the most famous Mexican holidays in the world. Papier-mâché skeletons and sweet skulls are as recognizable symbols as the jack-o'-lantern during Halloween celebrations. For the uninitiated, the Day of the Dead in Mexico is strongly associated with skeletons and carries a connotation of mourning and sadness. In fact, this holiday is celebrated with joy, because death for the Mexicans is not the end of life, but its continuation in another world. Mexicans are convinced that once a year the dead visit them, so this holiday does not bring sadness. The dead are not commemorated in Mexico, they are met here.
The origins of the holiday
The Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico has its roots in ancient indigenous traditions. Rituals associated with the death of ancestors were celebrated by indigenous peoples for 2500-3000 years. The Aztec belief system was strongly associated with the rituals of death and resurrection, it was considered very important to honor those who died earlier. Even before the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the 16th century, the Aztecs kept ancestral skulls in their homes and used them in symbolic ceremonies.
When the Spanish conquistadors landed in Central America, they were first introduced to rituals that seemed to mock death. The conquerors considered the ritual blasphemous, and the indigenous population as barbaric and pagan.
Spain conquered the peoples of Central America with fire and sword and converted them to Catholicism. Although the Spaniards were shocked by the tradition of celebrating the dead, it was so deeply rooted in their culture that the conquerors would not be able to eradicate it. Practiced for thousands of years, the rituals were too important to the indigenous peoples to be abandoned so easily. Therefore, the church had no choice but to allow this tradition to continue. The celebrations, previously celebrated in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar (July 24-August 12), were moved to November 1 and 2, which calendar coincided with two Catholic holidays - All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. So this holiday is celebrated today.
The essence of the holiday
The Day of the Dead is celebrated for two days, November 1 and 2, sometimes the celebrations cover October 31 and November 2. In most regions of Mexico, on November 1, the deceased children and babies are honored (Día de Angelitos, Day of the Little Angels), on November 2, dead adults are commemorated (Día de los Muertos, Day of the Dead).
In the system of belief that the Mexicans inherited from the Aztecs, the dead continue to live in Mictlán (the underworld). Death is only a transition from one life to another, and the connection between the living and the dead exists, it is not interrupted. From Mictlan, the deceased return to their homes a year after death to enjoy the joys of life again, to see relatives, friends, to get what they loved during their lifetime. An arch (altar) made of yellow marigolds, a kind of symbolic door between this and the other worlds, is called to help the souls of the dead to visit home. Gifts and treats are placed on it for invisible visitors: flowers, candles, tamales (a dish of cornmeal), fruits, toys (for children and babies), bottles of tequila and mezcal (for adults). The two essentials are water, because the spirits are thirsty after a long journey, and pan de muertos (bread of the dead). The bread is baked in round loaves with stripes on top (resembling bones in shape) and usually sprinkled with sugar. Often a bread ball is baked on top, symbolizing the skull. The women prepare the deceased's favorite food all day long, and friends and relatives come together to meet the ghostly visitors. Beds are made in the houses, on which the dead can rest after a long journey.
The culmination of the holiday is a visit to the cemetery. Families tidy up the graves, have picnics and dance to live mariachi music, lay down favorite foods, drinks, photographs and memorabilia of the deceased, decorate them with candles and orange marigolds. In modern Mexico, orange marigolds are often referred to as flor del muerto (flower of the dead). These flowers are believed to attract the souls of the dead. All this is done so that the souls hear prayers and conversations.
On the eve of the holiday, shops and markets are filled with miniature coffins, skulls and skeletons made of chocolate, paper, cardboard or clay. The common symbol of the holiday is the skull (calavera in Spanish). Skeleton images appeared on the streets of Mexican towns and villages in the early 20th century, when graphic artist José Guadalupe Posada created the famous zinc engraving La Calavera de la Catrina (Skull rich woman). The famous Mexican artist emphasized that the rich and successful are just as mortal as everyone else. The image of a woman with a richly decorated skeleton became associated with the Day of the Dead, and since that time Calavera Katrina has been an integral part of modern Day of the Dead rites.
In northwestern and central Mexico (especially in large cities), children in costumes roam the streets begging for calaverita (a gift of a chocolate or sugar skull). This relatively recent custom is similar to begging for candy during Halloween celebrations.
Day of the Dead recognized national holiday Mexico, schools, businesses, banks and other commercial establishments are closed. In educational institutions of all levels, government agencies, as a rule, erect a small altar with donations - another indication of the importance this holiday occupies in the Mexican cultural tradition.
What's the difference between Halloween and Day of the Dead?
At first glance, the Mexican custom of celebrating the Day of the Dead has a lot in common with Halloween traditions. Both originated from early cultures and later mixed with Christianity. Both are based on the fact that the spirits return at this time of year (Halloween is celebrated on October 31st). The attributes of skulls are common, the holidays are closely connected with the concepts of death and the afterlife, but the parallels end there.
The idea of Halloween celebration is based on the fear of death, the holiday is rife with demons, witches and other figures from the horror world - all negative characters. The Day of the Dead is markedly different in this regard, showing a strong sense of love and respect for one's ancestors, dedicated to family, loved ones, who are remembered - all positive concepts.
Halloween traditions are associated with the notion that the spirits are malicious (children wear masks and then they will not be harmed), and on the Day of the Dead Spirits, their relatives joyfully greet them, who have not seen them for a whole year.
Another fundamental difference is the attitude towards death. On Halloween, death is something to fear. On the Day of the Dead, death is something to celebrate.
Regional differences
Today, in some parts of Mexico, Day of the Dead celebrations outshine even Christmas. But the traditions of the celebration are not universal and often vary from region to region. For example, in the southern state of Chiapas, a great emphasis is placed on processions and social events; in the Valley of Mexico, the decoration of altars in the homes of the dead dominates. For the south and rural areas, the holiday has a much greater social and cultural significance than in the north and in large cities. The Day of the Dead is widely celebrated throughout the country, but the soul of the holiday remains Southern Mexico, where the indigenous culture is stronger. Read below about how the Day of the Dead is celebrated in Pomuch, Okotepec and San Andres Mishkik.
pomuch
If you want to see how pre-Columbian cultures celebrated the Day of the Dead, head to the Mayan city of Pomuch in the Yucatan Peninsula, Campeche. The inhabitants of Pomuc hold traditions that can only be seen in a horror movie. Every year, on the eve of the celebration of the Day of the Dead, members of the family of the deceased exhume the remains of their loved ones (three years after their death). Then the bones are carefully cleaned, placed in a box covered with an embroidered cloth with the name of the deceased, and put on public display in the cemetery. At the end of the holiday, the remains are placed in ossuaries - places for storing skeletonized remains.
On next year cleaning, which is carried out here from 26 to 31 October, is repeated. The boxes with the remains are removed from the ossuary, the bones are cleaned, the old cloth is replaced with new.
The ritual is associated with the belief that if the bones are not taken care of, the souls of the dead will disturb their living relatives in their sleep and will not be at home on the Day of the Dead.
Even many Mexicans are amazed by such archaic traditions. But for the inhabitants of Pomuch, there is nothing terrible in this - for them, cleaning the bones of the dead is the same as washing a loved one while alive.
Cemetery in Pomuch video
San Andres Mishkik
In the 20th century, San Andres Mixquic was swallowed up by the rapidly growing capital of Mexico. It is now part of Tláhuac, one of the 16 districts of Mexico City, but Mishquik has retained a rural feel with strong folk traditions. San Andres Mishquik is best known for its celebration of the Day of the Dead. The culmination of the holiday is the alumbrada ceremony, when the cemetery around the main church is lit with thousands of candles and filled with incense smoke.
San Andres Mishquik is well known in the capital, and its cemetery is considered the only one preserved in Mexico City near the church (all the others were closed or moved for "hygienic purposes"). Rituals and ceremonies of the holiday gather near the cemetery thousands of Mexican and foreign tourists.
In addition to the traditional attributes of the holiday (the erection of altars, the cleaning of graves), games, processions, concerts and folk dances are held here. On the evening of November 1, a funeral procession is staged. A procession through the city with a cardboard coffin heads to the cemetery, where the "dead man" jumps out of the coffin and disappears from view to the general laughter of the crowd.
On the morning of November 2, the cemetery is being prepared for the alumbrada ceremony. At eight o'clock in the evening, the cemetery around the temple is illuminated by thousands of burning candles, the air is filled with the smell of burning copal (used in Mexico as incense in religious ceremonies). A solid sea of light from thousands of candles, the aroma of incense and flowers helps souls find their way to the earthly world.
In 2011, San Andrés Mishquik was included in the "Barrio Mágico" of Mexico City (Magical neighborhoods of Mexico City). The list consists of twenty-one suburbs of Mexico City, named "magical neighborhoods" for the purpose of promoting tourism. The program is modeled on the "Magic Cities of Mexico" (Pueblo Mágico).
Ocotepec
Ocotepec is a small town a short drive from Cuernavaca (Morelos state). The main feature of the Day of the Dead in Okotepec is the huge number of sacrifices. Families who have lost a loved one within the previous 12 months make altars that sometimes take up entire rooms. The altars are decorated with flowers, candles, fruits, bread, tequila, cigarettes, favorite dishes of the deceased.
Houses that have recently lost their relatives are easily identified by the path lined with flowers and burning candles. Flowers and candles serve not only as a guide for the soul of the deceased, where to go, but also as an invitation to the living to enter the house and admire the altar with rich offerings. With the onset of dusk and until about midnight, there is a continuous stream of guests, they lay at the altar the orange marigolds and long candles they brought with them, a tribute to the departed. By ancient custom, they are treated to tamales (a traditional Mexican dish made from cornmeal) and atole (a traditional hot drink made from cornmeal). Such treats are only prepared in homes where someone has died in the last 12 months.
The second feature of the celebration of the Day of the Dead in Okotepec is the night processions on the night of November 1 and 2. All the inhabitants of the town go to the cemetery, and spend the night next to the graves.
An interesting attraction of Okotepek is the cemetery itself. On many graves there are small churches and cathedrals covered with ceramic tiles.
The ability to face death without fear has always been the most important goal of human existence. The celebration of the Day of the Dead in Mexico gives an idea of how Mexicans deal with it.
Article
For five hundred years, the Catholic Church has tried to resist the holding of this national, so distinctive, full of pagan traditions Mexican holiday, and no propaganda, no prohibitions could exclude the celebration of the Day of the Dead, which is held on the night of the first of November, from the history of Mexico. In America, there is a similar holiday - Halloween, but in this country it is not filled with the same meaning as in Mexico, but has turned into a simple dressing up in imitating skeletons and witches carnival costumes and distributing sweets to children.
History and traditions of the holiday
The Day of the Dead is celebrated not only in Mexico, but also in Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, the veneration of people close to them who have died alive goes back to the depths of centuries, this tradition has a connection with the Indian past of almost all Latin American countries. According to the beliefs of the Aztecs, Tarascos and Mayans, on the night of November 1 and until the second day of this autumn month, the souls of the dead can return from the underworld of Mictlan to their home and see their relatives and friends still living on this earth. Mexicans try to help dead loved ones find their way home, and millions of candles are lit in cemeteries these days and small arches made of flowers are placed on altars so that the departed soul can enter the world of the living.
The rituals held by Mexicans in cemeteries are not complete without offerings, but they are all peaceful in nature: next to the image of the deceased, water is placed, symbolizing life, bread and delicacies are placed that the deceased loved ones loved, and the cemetery itself is decorated with ribbons and flowers. These days, Mexicans cook tamal, a traditional dish made from cornmeal, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, and meat from turkey, chicken, and pork. All this variety of products is wrapped in a banana leaf and consumed with pleasure in the cemetery. Sweets, so beloved by the Mexicans, are prepared in the form of skulls and symbols of death these days can be found not only as food, they decorate cities, homes and even vehicles.
Celebration order
It is celebrated by the whole family and even small children take an active part in it.
On the first day of honoring the dead, Mexicans remember the children who died, died at birth, due to illness or in the course of tragic cases. Toys and sweets are brought to cemeteries. This day is called the Day of the Angels. The whole family comes to the cemetery, where they commemorate the little "angels" who passed away so early.
The second day is dedicated to dead adults and Mexicans spend the whole night on the graves of their relatives. In Mexico, they firmly believe that while those who have gone to another world are remembered by the living, the souls of the dead acquire immortality and the right to a new incarnation.
How is the Day of the Dead
Mexican cemeteries are cordoned off by police cars, and it is almost impossible to find a parking space, since cars that arrived in advance at the Mexican cemetery are already parked for several kilometers near the places of rest for the dead. People go to the cemetery in dense rows, candles burn in the twilight and flashes of tourists' cameras flicker. Mexicans dress very smartly, men in white shirts, women in lace blouses, and older women adorn their hair with colored ribbons.
The cemetery takes on a festive look: tombstones and crosses are strewn with a bright carpet of flower petals, wreaths, bouquets, toys, photographs and souvenirs are placed everywhere, the smell of sweets, food and strong drinks floats in the air, music is played by vocal mariachis and people smile, lead unhurried conversations, and children play - these are not sad commemorations, this is the time when Mexicans rejoice at meeting their relatives.
The celebration of the Day of the Dead takes place in every Mexican city, in every village and village. You can even get on a tour of the cemetery or watch a competition that awards the most beautifully designed altar.