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Research Paper On Dia De Los Muertos

484 Words2 Pages

Dia de los Muertos means “Day of the Dead”. It is celebrated on November the first and second. It is a celebration of the lives of our deceased family and friends. This holiday is usually thought of as a Mexican holiday, but Latin Americans also celebrate this unique holiday. Dia de los Muertos originated in Mexico.

Dia de los Muertos is celebrated by extravagant festivals and lively parties. This holiday originated from a unique combination of Aztec rituals and Catholicism. The Aztec rituals consisted of the use of skulls, wooden skull masks called “calacas”, and placing the skulls on altars dedicated to the deceased loved ones being celebrated. Sugar skulls would have the name of the deceased person on the forehead, and a relative …show more content…

In reality, the Aztecs believed that the dead would be offended by sadness and mourning. Instead of being sad, they celebrated the lives of the deceased by dancing in their honor, and having huge, lively celebrations. The Aztecs also believed that life was a dream, and you only truly woke up at the time of death. The Spaniards saw death as the end of life.

Because of the indifference of beliefs between the Spanish conquistadors and the Aztecs, the conquistadors tried to force their own Catholic faith on the Aztecs. The Spanish considered the rituals of the Aztecs to be disrespectful and sacrilegious. They tried to suppress and eventually stop the Dia de los Muertos ritual, but it would not die. Since there was nothing the Spaniards could do to get rid of the ritual, they moved the date of the celebration to coincide with their own Catholic holidays for honoring the dead: All Saint’s Day and All Souls’ Day.

During this holiday, family members and friends of the deceased visit their graves and place marigolds on them. Small toys are placed on children’s graves, and bottles of tequila are given to the deceased adults. The relatives then spend the rest of the day at the cemetery. They may have a picnic and enjoy the deceased person’s favorite

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