Day of the dead or Día de los muertos, is a celebration, mostly celebrated in mexico. This day is technically celebrated from October 31st to November 2nd. Rather than Halloween which is only celebrated on October 31st in a number of countries, throughout the world. Although these holidays are similar, they are very different.
Day of the dead is a family reunion but dead ancestors are the guests of honor, ironically they are kind of laughing at them being dead. Rather than Halloween, which children dress in costumes and “trick or treat” ; Trick or Treating is a child’s custom of going to houses on Halloween with the threat of pranks if they are not given a small gift, often used as a greeting by kids doing this.. Both of the celebrations have a tradition that gives out treats but people who celebrate halloween typically give out candy while people who celebrate day of the dead give out favorite foods.
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A similarity is that they both deal with dead people or skeletons. Skeletons or las calacas are an internal or external framework of bone, cartilage, or other material supporting or in the body of an animal. Mexico dresses up as them and hangs them up as a sign of gratitude, you could say, while elsewhere celebrates halloween and hangs them up as a decoration to scare
Mexican culture celebrates their independence with a holiday and fireworks on Cinco de Mayo. The American ritual for independence is celebrated on July 4th also with a holiday and fireworks. Another ritual that is participated in annually by both Mexican and American cultures is the celebration of Christmas. Gift giving is a common ritual during the Christmas season. There are also some very unique rituals specific to each culture. For starters, one the most distinctive rituals in all of the World takes place in the Mexican culture, Dia de Los Muertos. Dia de Los Muertos is a celebration with masks like skulls and dancing honoring late ancestors. Another ritual specific to the Mexican culture is the holiday recognizing the Lady of the Guadalupe. The ritual feast remembers the sightings of her near present day Mexico City. American culture also contains some unique rituals. A very patriotic ritual takes place in the grade school class everyday; it is called the Pledge of Allegiance. This ritual instills patriotic values as well as teaching loyalty to thy nation. Thanksgiving is another example of a ritual not in Mexican culture that is in American culture.
In Mexico, Dia de los Muertos is a celebration to honor the dead. This holiday was made for people struggle with losing loved ones, and celebrating it was found to be a good way to help them cope. Families can be seen in the cemetery bringing festive gifts to memorialize lost members.
In a nutshell, the Day of the Dead, or El Día de los muertos, is a celebration the Spaniards have been practicing for over 3,000 years. People whose family members passed wore wooden skulls called calacas to honor their family members.
Dia de los Muertos and Halloween are alike in some ways, but they are mostly different. For instance, Dia de los Muertos celebrates death. The people in Mexico and Central America who celebrate it aren’t afraid of this part of life. Halloween on the other hand celebrates being scared of death. On Dia de los Muertos, the people celebrate their loved ones who have passed, by honoring them. The reasons that Dia de los Muertos and Halloween are different are the people celebrate death, honor their dead loved ones, and finally the use of food, colors and costumes.
Halloween is an appreciation of the afterlife and the survival after death. Literal meaning is the night before All Hallows' Day (aka All Saints' Day). Day of the Dead is the remembrance and celebration of friends and family who are dead.
Villalba states that, the celebration begins as early as midnight on October 31 because they believe that the gates of heaven open and the deceased children are welcomed back to earth for 24 hours to celebrate with their families. The following day, 2nd of November, “adults come down to enjoy the festivities” (Villalba). Within those two days, there are many expenses and lot of planning for families who celebrate this holiday. They begin with going to the cemeteries where they clean and decorate the tombs of their deceased members. Families then create beautiful ofrendas at their homes, which are alters, with some of the most important decorations such as bright colored marigolds, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), white candles, candy skulls, calacas (skeleton figures), a portrait of the loved one, with a few of their favorite dishes and drinks, and burning copal. “The white candles are lighted up so that the deceased can see their family members around the tomb” (The Day of the Dead in Mexico,2005). These alters require the most expenses, sometimes people even spend months’ worth of savings for this specific date because they believe their posada should be resplendent, just as their beloved ones would want. To end the day, families return to the cemeteries to gather around the tomb of their loved one where
Death, and the skeleton represented as Death, is seen in a much different way by the Mexicans than by most other cultures. It is seen in a mocking, cheerful light. A symbol that can be as playful as it is serious, it appears everywhere during dia de muertos as wood, paper mache, sugar, and plastic.
2) Support (Evidence) The celebration takes place at midnight on October 31st and goes on through November 1st and November 2nd. It is designed to honor the dead souls who, it is believed, return to their earthly homes on Halloween. Many families construct an altar to the dead in their homes to honor deceased relatives and decorate it with flowers, favorite foods and drinks of the departed (Markello). Some other decor are the widely known sugar skulls which represent the celebration of life and death. They can all be made differently in colorful and creative design combinations to personalize the skulls after the person they are made for. The intent of all this is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will provide protection, good luck, and wisdom to their families.
In the Latino death rituals are influenced by their catholic beliefs. They have a continuing relationship with the dead through prayer and visits to the grave. Grief can be expressed by crying. Women are allowed to wail while men are not to a lot of emotion. Death for Mexicans in Mexico has more understanding of death because the country is religious, real, poor, and young. Death is shown by statues, art, literature, and history portray death. Mexican children start at an early age to accept death. Mexicans and Latinos celebrate “Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead) to remember and honor the dead Lobar, Youngblut, & Brooten, 2006, p. xx-a)
¨ El dia de los muertos.” Have you ever heard of that? Mexicans celebrate the day Of The Dead as a tradition. Every year between
Mexicans have a variety of holidays and important dates they celebrate.Depending upon the region or the village you find yourself in, there might be a unique saint day parade or street processional going on around you. However, there are a few holidays and traditions in Mexico that transcend the boundaries of specific regions and villages.
In Mexico, fiestas occur frequently throughout the year as a custom. Mexicans gather on these holidays to eat dance,take part in parades, and remember historic or religious events. Mexican Independence Day celebrates the separation of the country from Spain on September 16, 1810. Another famous celebration is Day of the Dead which is celebrated on the first of November. Although it may sound scary, this celebration is a cheerful time of remembering friends and family members who have died.
For instance, they have the day of the dead. The day of the dead is a day dedicated to celebrating all the lost souls. They believe that if a family member passes their soul may still linger around on Earth and may not reach heaven on time. By celebrating the day of the dead, they believe that their ancestors may no longer linger the earth and be able to reach heaven in time. A lot of cities in Mexico make huge celebrations for this very well-known holiday.
During the party the girl must dance with all her relatives who come. The relatives give her a rose before they dance with her. After that everyone usually dances and eats. At the end of the quincenera the father puts on the girls pair of high heels to symbolize that she is finally a women. Another big celebration in Mexico is “Day of the Dead”. One of the most important traditions for day of the dead is the day of the dead alter.Day of the Dead altars are usually made inside peoples homes. It honors their loved ones who have died. In Mexico people call Day of the Dead “Dia de los Muertos”. On Day of the Dead they make skeleton heads formed out of sugar that have colorful designs on them. Day of the Dead usually last from October 31 to
Día De Los Muertos is a celebration of life, not death. It is celebrated in