Día de los Muertos

Español II

¿Qué es?

Día de los Muertos is a holiday that honors the dead.

It takes place on November 2nd and it is celebrated in Mexico and parts of Central America and the United States.

It is the day dedicated to honor and remember ones dead relatives or loved ones.

¿Por qué es celebrado?

Before the Spanish conquerors arrived in Mexico, the Aztecs had a ritual to celebrate death. The Aztecs believed that death

was a continuation of life. Instead of fearing death, the

Aztecs embraced it.

In the Spanish attempt to convert the Aztecs to Catholicism, the Spanish tried to abolish this ritual because they believed it was sacrilegious.

However, the Spanish attempt was unsuccessful and instead opted to combine the catholic holiday All Saints Day (nov. 1) and Día de los Muertos (Nov. 2).

¿Cómo es celebrado?

Día de los muertos is celebrated in different ways:

Some build ofrendas in their homes. The ofrendas are decorated with various objects such as:

pictures of the deceased cempazúchil flowers

velasCalaveras made of sugar

pan de muerto

and papel picado

Along with favorite items of the

deceased such as food and drinks.

Other celebrate it by attending mass then going to the cemeterio and creating ofrendas in the person’s gravesite with the same items: cempazúchil flowers, velas, Calaveras, pan de muerto, papel picado, and favorite items of the deceased.