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Essay On Day Of The Dead

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Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated throughout Mexico. This holiday is a day to remember friends or family members who have died and prepare special foods in honor of those people. It is believed that the spirit of the dead visit their families on October 31, and leave on November 2. Day of the Dead has its origins in Aztec traditions honoring the dead. Day of the Dead, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day are all connected because the indigenous people have combined this with their own ancient beliefs of honoring their deceased loved ones. They believe that the gates of heaven are opened at midnight of October 31, and the spirits of all deceased children are allowed to reunite with their families for 24 hours. On November 2, the …show more content…

Cemeteries are the place the souls of the dead revisit the land of the living and partake in the offerings given them by their family and friends. While Day of the Dead is viewed primarily as a Mexican holiday, it is also celebrated in communities in the United States with large populations of Mexican-Americans, and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Latin America. This Holiday is celebrated joyfully, and though it occurs at the same time as Halloween, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day, the mood of the Day of the Dead is in a light way.
Rituals celebrating the lives of dead ancestors had been performed by these Mesoamerican civilizations for at least 3,000 years. It was very common to keep skulls as trophies and display them during rituals as a symbol of death and rebirth. Festivities were created over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl, known as the “Lady of the Dead”. The Spanish combined their custom of halloween with the similar Mesoamerican festival, making the Day of the Dead. A common symbol for this Mexican holiday is the skull, which the people represent as wearing masks called calacas. Sugar skulls are often eaten by a relative or a friend. These were all facts about the Mexican Holiday called the Day of the

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