Day Of The Dead

Day of the Dead
Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of familyand friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. It is particularly celebrated in Mexico, where it is a national holiday, and all banks are closed. The celebration takesplace on November 1, in connection with theCatholic holidays of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day (November 2). Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring thedeceased using sugar skulls,marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased.
Scholars trace the originsof the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddessMictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world:In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. InSpain, there are festivals and parades, and, at the end of the day, people gather atcemeteries and pray for their dead loved ones. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures.
The Day of the Dead celebrationsin Mexico can be traced back to its indigenous pagan cultures. Rituals celebrating the deaths of ancestors had been observed by these civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500–3,000 years.[1] In thepre-Hispanic era, skulls were commonly kept as trophies and displayed during the rituals to symbolize death and rebirth.
The festival that became the modern Day of the Dead fell in the ninth monthof the Aztec calendar, about the beginning of August, and was celebrated for an entire month. The festivities were dedicated to the goddess[2] known as the "Lady of the Dead", corresponding to the...