Day of the Dead

The Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a holiday celebrated in many
parts of the world, which directs honor and reverence towards one's ancestors. The
event is especially popular among Roman Catholics, and mirrors similar days to
commemorate the dead in other religious traditions and cultures. Though the subject
of death may be considered morbid from the perspective of some, celebrants typically
approach the Day of the Dead joyfully. In contrast to Halloween, All Saints Day and
All Souls Day, the traditional mood during the Day of the Dead is much brighter with
emphasis on honoring the lives of the deceased, and celebrating the continuation of
life. The belief is not that death is the end, but rather that death is the beginning of a
new stage in life.
The holiday has its highest prominence in Mexico, where the celebration has ancient
Aztec and Mesoamerican roots. The Day of the Dead is widely observed in other Latin
American countries as well including Brazil, where it is followed by visiting cemeteries
and churches. The holiday is typically celebrated on November 1 (All Saints' Day) and
November 2 (All Souls' Day).

Observance of the holiday has spread to Mexican-American communities in

the United States, where in some locations, new elements are being introduced (see
below). Similarly-themed celebrations also appear in some Asian and African cultures
such as Korea.

Origins in Various Cultures

For thousands of years, various cultures across the globe have placed a very high
degree of importance on the veneration of ancestors. Among
traditional animistic societies, for example, honoring the deceased has been seen as an
essential part of ensuring the well being of society and the family-clan-tribe. It was
often believed that the souls of the dead had a profound influence the lives of the
living, and veneration of them was seen as necessary for the survival of the
community. In several cultures, annual festivals developed to remember and honor
the dead, and careful rituals were prescribed to placate-propitiate deceased spirits to
keep them benevolent rather than malevolent. In Chinese society, for example, the
ancient practice of ancestor worship, still common today, deeply penetrated all aspects
of the Chinese ethos. Other societies placed similar significance on communing with
the dead, and elaborate rituals developed in African, Carribbean, and Meso-
American culture. Over time, specific days for worshiping the dead arose in different
parts of the world, which were associated with the regions’ own religious beliefs.
Though these culturally distinct "Days of the Dead" were held at different times of
the year, their underlying themes were similar-respecting, honoring, and
remembering the dead, lead to communal well-being, and both this-worldly and
eschatological rewards.
In many countries with a Roman Catholic heritage, All Saints Day and All Souls Day
have long been holidays where people take the day off work, go to cemeteries with
candles and flowers, and give presents to children, usually sweets and
toys.[1] In Portugal and Spain, oferendas (offerings) are made on this day. In Spain,
the play Don Juan Tenorio is traditionally performed. In Spain,
Portugal, Italy and France, people bring flowers to the graves of dead relatives.
In Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania, Croatia, Austria and Germany, the tradition is to light
candles and visit the graves of deceased relatives. In Tyrol, cakes are left for the dead
on the table and the room is kept warm for their comfort. In Brittany, people flock to
the cemeteries at nightfall to kneel, bareheaded, at the graves of their loved ones, and
to anoint the hollow of the tombstone with holy water or to pour libations of milk on
it. At bedtime, the supper is left on the table for the souls.

Observances outside Mexico

A Day of the Dead altar in Los Angeles pays homage to dead television shows, with
traditional marigolds, sugar skulls and candles.

United States
Many U.S. communities with immigrants from Mexico celebrate the Day of the Dead
with observances similar to those found in Mexico. In some of these communities, such
as in Texas[7]and Arizona, [8] the celebrations tend to be mostly traditional.
In other communities, however, interactions between Mexican traditions and
American culture have resulted in expanded events intended to make artistic or
sometimes political statements. For example, in Los Angeles, California, the Self Help
Graphics & Art Mexican-American cultural center presents an annual Day of the
Dead celebration, that includes both traditional and political elements, such as altars
to honor the victims of the Iraq War highlighting the high casualty rate among Latino
soldiers. An innovative version of the Day of the Dead is also evolving at a cemetery
near Hollywood. There, in a mixture of Mexican traditions and Hollywood fads,
conventional altars are set up side-by-side with altars to Jayne Mansfield and Johnny
Ramone. Colorful native dancers and music intermix with performance artists, while
sly pranksters play on traditional themes.
Similar inter-cultural fusion of Mexican celebrations are occurring in San Francisco
through the Galería de la Raza, and in Missoula, Montana where skeletal celebrants
on stilts, novelty bicycles, and skis parade through town. [9]

Europe
Observance of a Mexican-style Day of the Dead has spread to Europe as well. In
Prague, Czech Republic, for example, local citizens celebrate the Day of the Dead with
masks, candles and sugar skulls. [10]

Similar celebrations

Guatemala

Fiambre Served
Guatemalan celebrations of the Day of the Dead (Día de los Difuntos) are highlighted
by the construction and flying of giant kites [11] in addition to the traditional visits to
gravesites of ancestors. Another famous Guatemalan event is the consumption
of Fiambre, a traditional food made from over 50 ingredients, which is made only for
this day during the whole year. (see photo)

Brazil
The Brazilian celebration of "Finados" (Day of the Dead) is held on November 2. On
this day, people go to cemeteries and churches, offering flowers, candles, and prayers.
The celebration is intended to be positive in order to commemorate those who are
deceased.

Haiti
In Haiti, voodoo traditions called Santeria have mixed with Roman Catholicism to
create unique observances of this event. For example, loud drums and music are
played at all-night celebrations at cemeteries to waken Baron Samedi (spirit of the
dead), the god of the dead, and his mischievous family of offspring.

Philippines
In the Philippines, the Day of the Dead is called Araw ng mga Patay, Undas, or Todos
Los Santos. It is said to be an opportunity to be with the departed as a type of "family
reunion." Since it is intended to be for the purpose of spending time with dead
relatives, families usually camp in cemeteries, and sometimes spend a night or two
near their relatives' tombs. Card games, eating, drinking, singing and dancing are
common activities in the cemetery, probably to alleviate boredom. Additionally, tombs
are cleaned or repainted, candles are lit, and flowers are offered. It is considered a
very important holiday by many Filipinos (after Christmas and Holy Week), and
additional days are normally given as special non-working holidays (but only
November 1 is recognized as a legal holiday).

Japan
The Bon Festival (O-bon (お盆) or only Bon (盆) is a Japanese Buddhist holiday to
honor the departed spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist festival has evolved into a
family reunion holiday during which people from the big cities return to their
hometowns and visit and clean their ancestors' graves. Traditionally including a
dance festival, this event has existed in Japan for more than five hundred years.

Korea

In Korea, Chuseok is a major traditional holiday, also called Hankawi (한가위,中秋节

). Koreans go where the spirits of one's ancestors are enshrined, and perform rituals
of ancestral worship early in the morning. Additionally, they visit the tombs of
immediate relatives and ancestors in order to trim the grass and plants and clean the
area around the tomb. Traditional foods, drinks, and crops are offered with prayers
to their ancestors.
Chinese beliefs
The Qingming Festival is a traditional Chinese festival usually occurring around April
5 of the Gregorian calendar. Along with Double Ninth Festival on the ninth day of the
ninth month in the Chinese calendar, it is a time to tend to the graves of departed
ones. In addition, in the Chinese tradition, the seventh month in the Chinese calendar
is called the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits come out from the
underworld to visit the living.

Africa cultures
In some African cultures, visits to the graves of ancestors, the leaving of food and
gifts, and the asking of protection, are important parts of traditional rituals, especially
before the beginning of hunting season.[12] This demonstrates the importance in many
traditional African religions of communications with ancestors.

Bibliography
 Brandes, Stanley. “The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the Quest for Mexican
National Identity.” Journal of American Folklore442 (1998): 359-80.
 __________. “Sugar, Colonialism, and Death: On the Origins of Mexico’s Day of
the Dead” Comparative Studies in Sociology and History 39(2) (1997): 270-299.
 ___________. “Iconogaphy in Mexico’s Day of the Dead.” Ethnohistory 45(2)
1998): 181-218.
 Carmichael, Elizabeth and Sayer, Chloe. The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of
the Dead in Mexico. University of Texas Press, 1991. ISBN 9780292776586
 Conklin, Paul. “Death Takes A Holiday.” U.S. Catholic 66 (2001): 38-41.
 Garcia-Rivera, Alex. “Death Takes a Holiday.” U.S. Catholic 62 (1997): 50.
 Garciagodoy, Juanita. Digging the Days of the Dead: A Reading of Mexico's Dias
De Muertos. University Press of Colorado, 2000. ISBN 9780870815904