Día de muertos: a brief explanation
I'm copying this from my tumblr post. If you'd like to see pics of altars and other día de muertos-related paraphernalia, please visit it.... Let's hope it doesn't fail and erase my entire queue or something! Dx Damn tumblr is wonky today.
I'm not going into historical details here, because I ignore them. Día de muertos is a tradition, originally from the pre-Hispanic days, of certain ethnic groups that lived in the territory that today is called Mexico. The idea is that on the evening of November 1st, the dead can come back from the World of Death, and pay a visit to their beloved ones. So, what do you do when a beloved one is visiting? You gotta throw a party, right! :)
An altar de muertos (dead's altar) is put together to welcome your beloved ones who have passed away. There's not just one version of the altar--its elements and design vary from place to place and/or ethnic group, as well as what people do to celebrate that day aside from making the altar, but they usually have certain common things:
Cempasúchil flowers: These are vivid yellow, strong-scented flowers. Its scent guides the beloved ones from the world of death to your house. :)
Candles: Lighting the way, of course.
Water: For purity.
Salt: I've forgotten why, but there's gotta be salt..
A mirror: So the dead guy can look at his own reflection and recognize himself.
Sugar skulls, sweets, and pan de muertos, and other traditional sweets and candies: these don't only represent death or dead bodies, but are also a treat for the visitor! :)
Food and drinks: Your beloved one's favourite. They liked burgers? There's gotta be a burger on the altar! They liked tequila? There you go, tequila on the altar. You're inviting them to your house, you should offer them what they liked the most, right? :)
A picture of the dead visitor: So everyone knows the altar is for him! :)
Papel picado: Cut paper? You know, colourful flags and everything, to make it prettier. :D
Soil: Forgotten why, but there's gotta be some.
Religious images: So, as pretty much everything in this country, this tradition got mixed with Spanish/Christian elements somewhere along the way. So there are usually crosses, made of salt or soil, and images of saints or of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Personal belongings: Of your beloved one. Like books, or jewels, or an article of clothing... something that belonged to that person or something that person used to like. :)
It should be said that this tradition didn't take place in all the current Mexican territory. It was usually more common in the south. But in recent decades, the government urged the ministry of education to have altar de muertos conquests in schools, and have the entire population informed of and educated on this tradition. It's a way to give us unity and identify as Mexicans, as well as keeping these sort of traditions 'safe'--they freaked out because everyone started celebrating Halloween.
As for Halloween, some kids dress up and go trick-and-treating, though they don't really trick, they just ask for candies! :D And some people decorate their houses with pumpkins and whatnot. Some people dress up and throw Halloween parties. And of course, some altares de muertos in recent years also have Halloween motives, likes pumpkins or 'monsters'.
It's one of my favourite holidays. I like it better than the Independence Day! XD We have candies and food and it's autumn, so it's colder, and you get to remember your beloved ones and honour them. I love it. <3
I'm not going into historical details here, because I ignore them. Día de muertos is a tradition, originally from the pre-Hispanic days, of certain ethnic groups that lived in the territory that today is called Mexico. The idea is that on the evening of November 1st, the dead can come back from the World of Death, and pay a visit to their beloved ones. So, what do you do when a beloved one is visiting? You gotta throw a party, right! :)
An altar de muertos (dead's altar) is put together to welcome your beloved ones who have passed away. There's not just one version of the altar--its elements and design vary from place to place and/or ethnic group, as well as what people do to celebrate that day aside from making the altar, but they usually have certain common things:
Cempasúchil flowers: These are vivid yellow, strong-scented flowers. Its scent guides the beloved ones from the world of death to your house. :)
Candles: Lighting the way, of course.
Water: For purity.
Salt: I've forgotten why, but there's gotta be salt..
A mirror: So the dead guy can look at his own reflection and recognize himself.
Sugar skulls, sweets, and pan de muertos, and other traditional sweets and candies: these don't only represent death or dead bodies, but are also a treat for the visitor! :)
Food and drinks: Your beloved one's favourite. They liked burgers? There's gotta be a burger on the altar! They liked tequila? There you go, tequila on the altar. You're inviting them to your house, you should offer them what they liked the most, right? :)
A picture of the dead visitor: So everyone knows the altar is for him! :)
Papel picado: Cut paper? You know, colourful flags and everything, to make it prettier. :D
Soil: Forgotten why, but there's gotta be some.
Religious images: So, as pretty much everything in this country, this tradition got mixed with Spanish/Christian elements somewhere along the way. So there are usually crosses, made of salt or soil, and images of saints or of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Personal belongings: Of your beloved one. Like books, or jewels, or an article of clothing... something that belonged to that person or something that person used to like. :)
It should be said that this tradition didn't take place in all the current Mexican territory. It was usually more common in the south. But in recent decades, the government urged the ministry of education to have altar de muertos conquests in schools, and have the entire population informed of and educated on this tradition. It's a way to give us unity and identify as Mexicans, as well as keeping these sort of traditions 'safe'--they freaked out because everyone started celebrating Halloween.
As for Halloween, some kids dress up and go trick-and-treating, though they don't really trick, they just ask for candies! :D And some people decorate their houses with pumpkins and whatnot. Some people dress up and throw Halloween parties. And of course, some altares de muertos in recent years also have Halloween motives, likes pumpkins or 'monsters'.
It's one of my favourite holidays. I like it better than the Independence Day! XD We have candies and food and it's autumn, so it's colder, and you get to remember your beloved ones and honour them. I love it. <3