Mexican Cemetery Research Paper

Villalba states that, the celebration begins as early as midnight on October 31 because they believe that the gates of heaven open and the deceased children are welcomed back to earth for 24 hours to celebrate with their families. The following day, 2nd of November, “adults come down to enjoy the festivities” (Villalba). Within those two days, there are many expenses and lot of planning for families who celebrate this holiday. They begin with going to the cemeteries where they clean and decorate the tombs of their deceased members. Families then create beautiful ofrendas at their homes, which are alters, with some of the most important decorations such as bright colored marigolds, pan de muerto (bread of the dead), white candles, candy skulls, calacas (skeleton figures), a portrait of the loved one, with a few of their favorite dishes and drinks, and burning copal. “The white candles are lighted up so that the deceased can see their family members around the tomb” (The Day of the Dead in Mexico,2005). These alters require the most expenses, sometimes people even spend months’ worth of savings for this specific date because they believe their posada should be resplendent, just as their beloved ones would want. To end the day, families return to the cemeteries to gather around the tomb of their loved one where

At some point in our lives, we all come to realize that death is a part of life. Cultural diversity provides a wide variety of lifestyles and traditions for each of the unique groups of people in our world. Within these different cultures, the rituals associated with death and burial can also be uniquely diverse. Many consider ritualistic traditions that differ from their own to be somewhat strange and often perceive them as unnatural. A prime example would be the burial rituals of the Native American people.

Spiritual connection with the dead is also one of the important elements of Latino culture, which is demonstrated by frequent gravesite visits and praying to spirits. Death is always associated with separation, which leads to sorrow, and grief; however cultural perceptions and beliefs help to look at death from a different perspective and perceive death as a natural state that can be approached with love, respect, dignity, and tremendous family support. Latino culture supports their dying people during the last journey, and believes in afterlife, which gives them hope and helps to overcome unbearable grief of permanent loss.

With the fast-paced globalization together with the heightening political economic issues of the world, it has brought forth the illegal immigrants to cross the Sonoran Desert of Southern Arizona, or as the anthropologist, Jason De León describes it, The Land of the Open Graves. However, there is more to unauthorized immigration than what meets the eye. Scratching the surface of the case of undocumented migrants reveals that it rooted from the intensifying global inequality and crisis of the world. Accordingly, the author’s decision to vividly depict the brutality beyond words the undocumented migrants had suffered while crossing the borders allows the readers to see the bigger picture behind illegal immigration, preventing further unnecessary deaths of the innocents.

The graves of many famous people are at Arlington Nationel Cemetary. It did not start out that way. In 1861, a Confederate General and his wife owned the house and the land. That General was Robert E. Lee. His house was across the river from Washington, D.C. The Union Army took over the land at the start of the Civil War. Union soldiers that were killed in the war was buried near the house. These soldiers were poor. Their families could not pay for them to be buried. Arlington was called a "potter's field." A potters field is a place where poor or unknown people are buried. After the war, something odd started to happen. Union officers asked to be buried at Arlington. They wanted to be near those men who had been in the war with them. Americans

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a holiday that commemorates the family and its importance to human beings, both personally and culturally. Through various rituals, people honor their ancestors and those that have already passed on before them. The rituals that go on during this time are culturally rich practices that have been passed on for hundreds of years. Family members will go to graveyards to decorate relative’s graves with altars and tell fond stories of the deceased. Others will perform traditional dances or make quilts as tribute to their ancestors. Overall, Day of the Dead emphasizes the remembrance of loved ones and their significance to us through deeply embedded customs.

Cemeteries can be a vital source to anything that has happened in the past. All cemeteries carry information that can answer a lot of questions. Many cemeteries possess information that can be utilized as a helpful tool. Additionally, Texas has over 1,600 cemeteries that have a Texas Historic Cemetery Status. Out of each 254 counties in Texas, at least one cemetery has been designated as an HTC. In Texas, there are numerous of cemeteries that can be accessible. However, there are some that can not be accessible anymore but they are still counted for. It was stated that it was estimated that there are roughly 50,000 cemeteries in Texas. Those cemeteries, are cemeteries that are currently range from single, isolated and often unmarked graves

Sunny Albuquerque rests atop an escalated desert, and celebrates Halloween a notch above the rest of the planet. With roots from Mexico, New Mexico has been participating in “Las Dias de Los Muertos” (The Days of the Dead) long before the land became a state of the USA. During Oct. 31 – Nov. 4, the Spanish recognize the spirits who stay among them, and honor those that have passed. They have the belief that maybe the spirits of the deceased are among them every day, but the end of October and early November is the chosen time to honor the nonliving. It teaches the Spanish to accept death, as it can’t be avoided. To bring some joy into the morbid topic, they build intricate shrines for their passed family members, dance the night away to music, and have fiestas. Skulls are vibrantly painted with the name of the deceased on them. Of course, plenty of spicy Spanish food is cooked and enjoyed.

The corpse are positioned in a crouching position in the center of friends, and relatives. The body is laid usually on a scaffold or sometimes in the earth, but this is not the final resting place. Every ten to twelve years the four nations of the Huron Confederacy gather together its dead and take them all to a common place where they celebrate the “Feast of the Dead”.

El día de los Muertos, also known as, Day of the Dead, is celebrated starting on October 31st, Halloween, and ends on November 2 of each year. It is a Mexican holiday, primarily a Catholic holiday, celebrated throughout Mexico, the Central and South regions. The significance of this celebration is prayer and remembrance of friends and family members who have died. On November 1st, the children would be the first to return to Earth and then on November 2nd, the adults would follow, which is why November 2nd is considered All Souls’ Day. (Kerri Allen, 2004) It is common for the families to put out pictures of their loved ones who have passed away on an alter and put out their favorite foods and gifts. Incense are lit, food is offered, mass is

Brazilian funerals are held very differently than the average American funeral. Their traditions stemmed from not only their beliefs but also their living environment, as Brazil is very hot and demands a fast burial. Within forty-eight hours of death, and not a moment longer, a memorial service will most likely take place in a location called a velorios, a place where a private or public gathering can take place to mourn the dead. Unlike an average American funeral, food or a long period of waiting does not take place. A funeral for the Brazilians is very personal and intimate; kissing and hugging the dead is usually involved along with crying and loud mourning for the deceased. The main responsibilities of all those involved in the previous

Homo heidelbergensis emerged during the middle Pleistocene and they started to work in teams in order to hunt and gather food. Working in teams requires some form of communication and it implies a social order was beginning to be established within Homo heidelbergensis. That is why they buried their dead because they were a rudimentary community, and a funeral is always viewed as a social event. A funeral is an event to honor the dead, but its main purpose is to gather the community together and help them grieve for loss of their loved ones. Therefore, the main purpose of a funeral is to help the community coup with the loss of an individual within their community. Therefore, Homo heidelbergensis burial in Sima de los Huesos, may mark the

In the Latino death rituals are influenced by their catholic beliefs. They have a continuing relationship with the dead through prayer and visits to the grave. Grief can be expressed by crying. Women are allowed to wail while men are not to a lot of emotion. Death for Mexicans in Mexico has more understanding of death because the country is religious, real, poor, and young. Death is shown by statues, art, literature, and history portray death. Mexican children start at an early age to accept death. Mexicans and Latinos celebrate “Dia de los Muertos (day of the dead) to remember and honor the dead Lobar, Youngblut, & Brooten, 2006, p. xx-a)

Mankind’s history of burial practices and funeral customs are as old as civilization itself. There is no specific way to planning a funeral. Every civilization and culture has provided for their dead in different ways. Religion and personal beliefs play an important role in the burial practices and funeral customs of a given culture or civilization. Furthermore, each civilization and cultured ever studied have three things in common: some type of funeral rites, rituals, and ceremonies; A sacred place for the dead; and memorialization of the dead. As far back as the time of Christ, burials have been noted to take place. In time burial and funeral customs have become very distinct, interesting and

The idea is to celebrate the faithful departed through smells, colors and flavours. La marigold flower means the light, to guide the souls; the portrait of the death, symbolize the souls will visit the night of November 2; candles which form the cross represent the four cardinal points, to find the way home and the soul will know the path from water and salt, incense.