1. The Day of the Dead (also called All Saints’ Day) is celebrated in many countries on November 2nd.

The celebrations
in Mexico are very famous. What do you know about how they celebrate this festival in some parts of Mexico?
Mention at least one.

2. These things are all used to celebrate the Day of the Dead. Write the words in the correct places on the mind map.

g r a v e s in a c e m e t e r y guitars o ld s c u lp tu r e s processions/parades
candles c ro s s e s fireworks flowers
lanterns m o d e ls o f s k u lls paper flags p h o to g r a p h s o f r e la tiv e s
s ilv e r s k e le to n s s k e le to n d o lls s k e le to n fa c e p a in t trumpets

3. You are going to watch a short video about the Day of the Dead, read the three parts of the transcript from the
video, some words are missing, as you watch the video, complete the text.

1
Part 1 The day of the dead is a festival and, in that sense, it is very much a and I suppose that is something that
appeals to European and North American people because that’s not the way we understand __________2. Death is for us, a _____3
moment. We do remember our _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 but we remember them in times of solemnity.

Part 2 It’s a multi-sensory 5

, I think both for the people who make the altar and for the dead that 6
. People go
on journeys with the 7
and take them to their burial places and they’re sort of 8
this idea of the boundary
9
‘between’ the and the dead.

Part 3 What we’re really talking about is what you see in a lot of cultures, which is material culture or images and ideas
10 11
being t___ through time, obviously evolving as they come into with other cultures, so Mexican culture is
12 13
very much a mix of the _______ pre-Hispanic Meso-American cultures that before the Spanish conquest and all the
influence that came from Europe which wasn’t just from Spain.

*You can use the glossary to help you understand the words in bold.
GLOSSARY
appeals to: interests or attracts someone

solemnity: serious and sad feelings

multi-sensory: using several senses at the same time, example: seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting
altar: a small table used in religious ceremonies
burial: placing a dead body in a grave in the ground (verb - to bury)
boundary: a line that separates two different things or areas
evolving: changing over time

Pre-Hispanic Meso-American: referring to the peoples who were living in Mexico before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century,
example: the Aztecs
conquest: taking control of an area as a result of winning a war (verb - to conquer)

4. Complete the sentences with the words from the box.

skulls offer processions die existed fireworks visitors

graves explorers experience sadness memories

1. At the end of the video, one of the speakers said, "____are really important in a world where it’s so easy to forget."

2. If you are in Mexico on the Day of the Dead, you will______some amazing sights and sounds.

3. Lots of people paint their faces to look like_______on the Day of the Dead.

4. Mexicans remember family members for a long time after they_________.

5. The Day of the Dead continues some very old cultural traditions that_____before the Spanish arrived in Mexico.

6. ______to Mexico will enjoy seeing new things and eating new foods.

7. No one is happy all the time; there is some_______in everybody’s life.

8. Mexicans go to the cemetery and decorate the________of family members on November 2nd.

9. In many parts of the world, people walk down the streets in big______to celebrate important holidays.

10. People set off________at night during celebrations like the Day of the Dead and New Year’s Eve.

11. In the 16th century, many European_______traveled to North and South America.

12. Mexican families________flowers and food to the dead, on November 2nd.

5. Answer the following sentences.

1. Do you have an altar in your house for November 2nd?

2. Do you celebrate November 2nd in your town or do you go to another state to see how they celebrate it there?

3. Do you celebrate Halloween? Why or why not?