Day of the

Dead

History

Is
aMexicanholiday
celebrated
throughout Mexico, in particular the
Central and South regions.

The Day of the dead is celebrated on

November 2nd. November 1 is el Dia
de los inocentes or the day of the
children and All Saints Day.November
second is All Souls Day or the Day of
the Dead.
In 2008 the tradition was inscribed in
theRepresentative List of the Intangible
Cultural Heritage of HumanitybyUNESCO

The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and

friends to pray for and remember friends and
family members who have died

The origins of the celebration of the Day of

the Dead in Mexico predated the arrival of
the Spaniards. No record of celebrations in
ethnicity
mexica,maya,purepechaandtotonaca.

The festival that developed into the modern

Day of the Dead fell in the ninth month of
theAztec calendar, about the beginning of
August, and was celebrated for an entire
month. The festivities were dedicated to the
goddess known as the "Lady of the Dead",
corresponding to the modernLa Calavera
Catrina.

Rituals
celebrating
the
deaths
ofancestorshad been observed by these
civilizations perhaps for as long as 2,500
3,000 years.

The rituals that celebrate the life of the

ancestors are made in these civilizations
from pre-Columbian times . Among the
prehistoric peoples was common practice to
keep skulls as trophies and display them
during the rituals to symbolize death and
rebirth.

Traditions and
Offerings like welcome
customs

On this special day you receive the souls of the

dead with offerings in the Altar of Dead.

The Altar of Dead what made the bereaved in

their homes or cemeteries over the grave, in this
case, people watch at night in the grave hoping
the spirit of their dead down and enjoy your
offering.

There are many ways to make the Altar of Dead,

the easiest is on a table covered with a
tablecloth, a photograph of the deceased and is
decorated with flowers, some souvenirs and

Lighting the way back

home

An important part of this tradition involves

visiting cemeteries. Whether day or night ,
families come and place candles on the graves
as a way to light the way back home of souls.

One reason for dress

For this holiday tradition dress like Catrina ( an elegant lady

who walks with his hat full of flowers and celebrates death
rather than weep) , crybaby , skeletons and skulls.

The Mexican humor

One way is by the famous

Tradition consisting of rhyming
mocking manner of situations
unpopular characters using
death with a humorous intent .

literary skulls.
verses so ironic
and popular or
the theme of

Facts about the Day of

The color of the
death, Dead
in prehispanic Mexico ,

it was yellow.
Therefore, marigold flower is traditionally used in the
offering of the Day of the Dead .

In some regions of Michoacn , children are responsible for

ensuring the pantheons in the first day of November

Festivals Mexico City

The whole country has its particular tone

when celebrating the holidays and the City
of Mexico is no exception, from small dead
altars in homes where the deceased family
is offering with the dishes and drinks that
most enjoyed in life, even staging themed
related to these dates (El Don Juan Tenorio
is the most popular) through popular
festivals in different squares and offerings
of deaths in schools, universities and
cultural institutions for their perfect
realization and care the details become
real
art
installations.
Here are places you can not miss if you

Dead Offering Monumental The

Ciudad Universitaria

With several years of tradition, organizes this

offering UNAM students in its various faculties and
schools incorporated various offerings mounted
around a literary work or particular subject in the
central campus of University City. Cartonera large
dolls, flowers and phrases begin to enlist the last
week of October to make way for the big party day
1 and Nov. 2 taking advantage of the nice weather
where that season a large number of shows are
performed outdoors, recitals poetry, folk and pop
music in a family atmosphere with a touch of
freshness of the capital's youth in a context where
modern architecture is dressed in lights, candles
and
the
oldest
traditions.

Verbena Day of the Dead

in Coyoacan

Every year increase people attending the center

of Coyoacan to celebrate the Day of the Dead in
a fusion of American Halloween with Mexican
traditions. Thus, in Coyoacn the afternoon of
November 2 whole families attend disguised as
different characters among which the most
popular is the famous "Catrina" created by Jose
Guadalupe Posada in 1910 and immortalized by
the painter Diego Rivera in his mural " Dream of
a Sunday stroll along the Alameda. " This
character, a skeleton dressed in female attire
gala, represented in his time to the declining
Porfirian oligarchy and has become over time a
point of reference in Mexican popular culture.

Located at the southern

tip of Mexico City

where Mexico City becomes field Mixquic is

one of the populations most entrenched
has this festival throughout the country.
During the night of November 1 long
motorcade heading from various parts of
the city to this point, where upon arrival is
amazing the number of people who
celebrate it; at the doors of houses and
small business, family gifts we receive as if
it were orange mats and lit candles while
street children rather go in search of candy.
Fair sweets, food stalls and dances also
take place in this celebration.

Also this time may be the ideal time to visit

some of the historic cemeteries of the City
of Mexico with the artistic wealth of
interesting characters mausoleums and
time.
The
most
prominent
historic
cemeteries
are:
Pantheon of San Fernando
French Pantheon of the Mercy
Civil Pantheon of Dolores

Thank
you!