Day of The Dead By: Deborah Barron
The Day of The Dead or Día de los Muertos, is a Mexican holiday that is celebrated on October 31 to November 2. It is about honoring deceased loved ones with colorful festivities, altars, and Offerings. The Aztecs and other Nahua people living in what is now central Mexico, saw death as an ever-present part of life. Upon dying, a person was believed to travel to Chicunamictlán, the Land of the Dead. Only after getting through nine challenging levels, a journey of several years, could the person’s soul finally reach Mictlán, the final resting place. They use the days to help the spirits in their long journey. A student, when asked said, ‘I knew about this day and what it stood for, but never really realized how much more there is.’
Día de los Muertos is not, as is commonly thought, a Mexican version of Halloween, though the two holidays do share some traditions, including costumes and parades. October 31st is Halloween, November 1-2 is All Souls Day or the Day of the Dead. According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31st, and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours. The spirits of adults can do the same on November 2. During the brief period, the souls of the dead will awaken and return to the living world to feast, drink, dance and play music with their loved ones. In turn, all the living family members treat the deceased as honored guests in their celebrations. ”Ofrendas” (the area where the dead are honored) can be decorated with candles, bright marigolds called ”cempasuchil” and red cockscombs alongside food like stacks of tortillas and fruit. Sometimes even a washbasin and towel for spirits to freshen up after the journey.
Alebrijes or Spirit Guides are dream-creatures, spiky, winged, and striped, owe a debt to Pedro Linares’s fever visions, and they slot nicely into the idea of spirit companions. In some places, they echo nahuales (shape-shifting guardians); elsewhere, the xoloitzcuintli (the hairless dog) holds the job of ferrying souls. Panteón Visits or Graveside Rituals, make the cemeteries feel like a living room, but outside. Families scrub headstones, arrange flowers, pour atole (a traditional Mexican beverage) into steaming cups, and settle in. The use of skulls can be traced back to pre-Hispanic traditions, particularly among indigenous peoples such as the Aztecs, who honored their ancestors through rituals involving skulls.
The Aztecs believed that death was a part of life’s cycle, and they revered the skulls of their ancestors as vessels that housed the spirits. The sugar skull, (calavera de azúcar), is a popular representation. Traditionally crafted from sugar and decorated with vibrant colors, these skulls are often personalized with the names of deceased individuals. They are placed on altars, to honor and invite the spirits of the departed to join in the festivities. Another student who was questioned about this day said,” I had no idea that there was so much to this holiday.” The vibrant cempasuchil or the marigold, are used to decorate altars and graves. They were believed to guide the spirits back to the living world with their bright color and scent. As stated before, the holiday includes music, dancing, and feasting. Some families often shared traditional foods like pan de muerto (bread of the dead) and many other festive dishes.
In conclusion, this holiday is a meaningful celebration that honors and celebrates lost loved ones. While death is a part of life, the love and memories that they share keep those loved ones close.
