Five things you should know about Mexico’s Day of the Dead

This week, houses and streets successful Mexico person been decorated with colourful altars, marigold flowers, candles and sweetener skulls.

This is due to the fact that Mexicans are gearing up to observe El Dia de los Muertos – the Day of the Dead – the country’s astir important fiesta, which begins this weekend.

Mexican families volition stitchery successful homes and cemeteries successful representation of their household members who person departed. The time is packed with lively parades and rituals specified arsenic the decoration of altars, and sumptuous victuals including Mexican thoroughfare food, a peculiar benignant of breadstuff and blistery chocolate.

It’s a solemnisation of life, not death

The Day of the Dead, oregon El Dia de los Muertos, is not for mourning oregon grieving, but for celebrating the lives of those who person passed.

It is believed to beryllium a clip erstwhile the surviving and dormant tin link with each other. Traditional practices, specified arsenic placing marigold flowers connected altars and offering definite nutrient items, the aroma and colour of which are thought to assistance spirits instrumentality to sojourn the living.

To commemorate the dead, radical besides formal up successful colourful skeleton costumes.

A pistillate dressed successful a costume participates successful a presumption seeking to bring unneurotic Mexican and Canarian cultures astir the Day of the Dead, successful La Laguna municipality successful Tenerife island, the Canary Islands, Spain [File: Alberto Valdes/EPA]

The Day of the Dead has Indigenous roots

The festival is rooted successful the past Aztec content that decease is simply a continuation of life. Descendants of the Aztec radical beryllium to this day, chiefly successful Mexico.

The Aztecs, who were autochthonal to cardinal Mexico from the 14th to the 16th century, celebrated the deceased with monthlong festivities.

They besides honoured the goddess of the underworld, Mictecacihuatl, and made offerings of nutrient from the harvest and idiosyncratic belongings to her during these festivals.

When Spanish colonists arrived successful Mexico from 1519, they imposed Catholicism connected the Aztecs and combined these festivities with Catholic holidays – All Saints’ Day connected November 1 and All Souls’ Day connected November 2.

Eventually, these 2 days merged into the Day of the Dead.

Families make altars for the deceased

Families make altars called “ofrendas” successful their homes and successful cemeteries, laden with offerings to deceased loved ones and ancestors.

Altars are created with 2 levels to symbolise eden and Earth, 3 levels to see purgatory, oregon 7 levels to signify the steps to scope heaven.

Items representing the 4 elements are besides placed connected the altars: h2o to quench visitors’ thirst; occurrence successful candles to usher the spirits; earth, represented by nutrient and peculiar items for the deceased; and air, represented by colourful insubstantial designs. Some altars besides see salt, which is believed to assistance souls connected their travel successful the afterlife.

These altars besides show pictures of the deceased, items of their favourite food, candles and marigold flowers, which are believed to assistance pb spirits backmost from the cemetery to their family’s homes.

The Day of the Dead – El Día de los Muertos – successful Spanish is simply a Mexican solemnisation of deceased ancestors. Multi-coloured statues and skulls are shown connected an altar successful Queretaro, Mexico, successful October 2017 [File: Shutterstock]

The altars besides see tongue-in-cheek poems dedicated to the deceased loved ones called “calaveras” (skulls). These poems picture absorbing habits and comic stories which took spot during the lives of the present deceased.

Skulls, which correspond the cyclical quality of beingness and death, are a pervasive awesome during the Day of the Dead. Sugar skulls, oregon “calavera de azucar” are edible and decorative skull models made with sugar, clay oregon papier-mache, are utilized to adorn altars.

A miss holding her mother’s manus walks past decorative skulls displayed connected Reforma Avenue up of Day of the Dead festivities successful Mexico City [File: Marco Ugarte/AP]

Another communal nutrient point during the festival is the “bread of the dead” – “pan de muerto” – a circular loaf of breadstuff with bone-shaped designs. The breadstuff is typically sugar-coated, representing the tears of sorrow shed by loved ones.

The breadstuff is baked and eaten connected some days of the festival, and is besides offered astatine the altars.

Websites specified arsenic MiAltar besides let users to make virtual altars. These tin beryllium shared connected the website.

La Catrina dominates parades

La Catrina is simply a tall, pistillate skeletal figure, and she is seen everyplace during the festival.

She was a quality created successful the aboriginal 1900s by governmental cartoonist and lithographer Jose Guadalupe Posada.

A monumental La Catrina stands beside the Angel of Independence during the International Festival of Lights for the Day of the Dead successful Mexico City [File: Mario Guzman/EPA]

La Catrina dons a fancy French chapeau and feathers. Posada’s enactment was a commentary connected the aspirations of Mexicans to emulate the European elite.

Posada was known for saying “we are each skeletons”, alluding to how, nether the luxurious clothing, jewellery and coverings, we are each the same.

In 1947, creator Diego Rivera included Posada’s creation successful a mural, naming her Catrina, which means “the rich”.

Pedestrians and tourists locomotion past an illuminated La Catrina during the International Festival of Lights arsenic portion of the Day of the Dead celebrations successful Mexico City [File: AFP]

Day of the Dead continues for much than 1 day

The main days of solemnisation are November 1 and November 2. However, immoderate parts of the satellite statesman celebrations connected October 27, erstwhile radical besides commemorate their dormant pets. The days pursuing this are dedicated to gathering altars.

While the Day of the Dead is simply a Mexican festival, it is besides celebrated crossed Latin America, successful Spain, immoderate parts of the United States with ample Mexican-American populations, and the Philippines, which was colonised by Spain successful 1565.

November 1 is typically dedicated to children who person passed, referred to arsenic “angelitos” (little angels). Their graves are decorated with toys and balloons.

The time after, besides inactive called All Souls Day, is for adults who person departed.