Celebrating the Deads: el Día de los Muertos

Regardless of what kind of personality you have, how you behave to all living creatures, how kind you are to yourself and to your body, there is only one inevitable destination for all creatures: death. If you ask me, I believe that after humankind has realized death is our common destiny, they have started celebrating death. We can see this practice in the ancient tombs found with the tools and staffs, which belong to tomb owners in various cultures. Even though the first example that comes to mind about that is the Egyptian pyramids, I would like to explain the Mexican tradition: The Day of the Dead (el Día de los Muertos).

The Day of the Dead is one of Mexico’s most important religious holidays that is celebrated in November each year. The Day of Dead emphasizes remembrance of past lives and expresses celebration of the endlessness of life. It is not a Mexican version of Halloween. It dates back to some of Mexico’s oldest civilizations including the Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, and Purépecha. The Aztecs also celebrated Day of the Dead, though earlier —August— on the current calendar.

During this day, families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives or friends for a brief reunion including food, drink, and celebration. It’s believed that the border between the world of spirits and the real world is opened and the souls of the dead return to the real world to feast, drink, dance, and play music with their loved ones. In turn, the living family members treat the deceased as honored guests in their celebrations and leave the deceased’s favorite foods and other offerings at gravesites or on the ofrendas built in their homes. Ofrendas can be decorated with candles, bright marigolds called cempasuchil, and red cock’s combs alongside food like stacks of tortillas and fruit. In addition, sugar skulls are decorated and placed on ofrendas of loved ones. A Calavera, or sugar skull, is a decorative skull made (usually by hand) of either sugar or clay which is used in the Mexican celebration of the Day of the Dead. In modern times, during the Day of the Dead festivities, you can see that people generally wear skull masks.

Nobody knows if there is a life after death but I believe that this tradition could help Mexican people to handle losing somebody they love by remembering them and the memories with them, honoring their existence, and celebrating their new life. If you want to wish someone a happy Day of the Dead you can say:

“Feliz día de los Muertos.”