The Day of the Dead Festival....?

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weechi

i have celebrated day of the dead in mexico. it's called dia de los muertos, and it's not a festival. it's a holiday to celebrate and pay respect to dead relatives. it's officially on november 2nd. there are two main aspects to this day, that i observed. firstly, relatives will go to the cemetary, bringing gift, mostly favorite foods and candies of their dead relatives. the belief (although most people don't actually believe this) is that the dead relative's spirit will come out and enjoy eating this food. if you don't leave food...well, it's just not respectful. the relatives soul would appear and see you didn't care for them. (NO, they aren't going to haunt you or anything, this holiday is NOT related to halloween at all.) in actuality, homeless people go to the cemetary and eat the food. very dedicated relatives will actually sleep in the cemetary. they will also place exremely large wreaths on the grave site.

the other aspect of this celebration is a type of "mocking" or making fun of death. there are skeletons, skulls, etc.. made out of sugar. or you can have your name written on a skull. also, they have skeletons dressed as brides, grooms, etc... this is the mexican way of dealing with death...kind of a "i laugh in the face of death!" or "haha, death, i am cheating you!" kind of thing. it's just what they consider to be a healthy way of dealing with death...to make light of it. there are many speciality candies for this day...mostly sculpted out of sugar, or marzipan type stuff. and also special sweet breads, braided, stuff like that.

now the weird thing is....i had kids coming to my house, asking for candy, for like 4 days in a row. the 30th, 31st, 1st and 2nd. the problem is that nobody really understands what halloween is in mexico...and so kids come to the door without a costume and want candy, but for 4 days!!! i had students say to me, "you americans are so disrespectful!! you don't even remember your relatives on halloween!!" they didn't realize that halloween is NOT at ALL like day of the dead, and day of the dead is not related to halloween. so what you see now is this weird bend of two holidays that are bleeding together, with no relation at all. trick or treated, costumes, and candies are not part of the day of the dead celebration. neither are hauntings, ghost stories, or any of that stuff.

in my opinion, day of the dead is most traditionally celebrated in colonial towns, and towns with a larger native population. more "modern" or educated people don't go into the sleeping and leaving food thing...they simply visit the cemetary and leave a wreath, much like we would do here. they may also have an alter set up at their home, with pictures, and favorite foods or objects of their dead relatives.

Lauretta R

I have never celebrated it but it sounds like fun!!http://www.mexonline.com/daydead.htm
The Day of the Dead, DÃa de los Muertos, a festival celebrating the reunion of dead relatives with their families, November 1st and 2nd.

The Day of the Dead (DÃa de los Muertos, DÃa de los Difuntos or DÃa de Muertos in Spanish) is a holiday celebrated in many parts of the world, typically on November 1 (All Saints' Day) and November 2 (All Souls' Day).

In Mexico, where the holiday has perhaps its highest prominence, the holiday has ancient Aztec and Mesoamerican roots, and is a national holiday. The Day of the Dead is also celebrated to a lesser extent in other Latin American countries; for example, it is a public holiday in Brazil, where many Brazilians celebrate it by visiting cemeteries and churches. The holiday is also observed in the Philippines. Observance of the holiday has spread to Mexican-American communities in the United States, where in some locations, the traditions are being extended. Similarly-themed celebrations also appear in some Asian and African cultures.

Though the subject matter may be considered morbid from the perspective of some other cultures, celebrants typically approach the Day of the Dead joyfully, and though it occurs at the same time as Halloween, All Saints' Day and All Souls Day, the traditional mood is much brighter with emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, and celebrating the continuation of life; the belief is not that death is the end, but rather the beginning of a new stage in life.

lpaganus

Oaxaca has the best celebrations and displays

November 1st and 2nd

I've always been fascinated with the death related folkart surrounding El Dia. Miniature skeletons: the doctor, the musicians, brides and grooms. Sugar skulls and special cakes.
Here in Baja California there are contests among businesses for the best altara,massive flower displays, photos, favorite toys, etc.. You can tell when its time for El Dia when the fields of marigolds pop into bloom and their scent is unique.

Not a festival, simply a time for reconizing the concept of mortality and respect for the dead.

See wikipedia.

bubbles

The day of the Dead is celebrated on Nov 1st and 2nd. The first is el dia de los muertos de los angelitos (the day of the little angels), which is to celebrate the children or young souls.

I have never been in Mexico during The day of the dead, but would love to go. I made a report about it when I was in school and since then have wanted to go during The Day of the Dead.

txrose

Dia de los Muertos is a holiday not a festival. It is celebrated all across Mexico. Families go to the gravesites of their passed relatives to celebrate this day with them. They clean their gravesites and bring the person's favorite foods and share them with family. The holiday is celebrated on November 2. It is a way for the living to pay respect and honor their dead.

REnate

It is celebrated all over Mexico.

November 1st and 2nd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_dead
You go to the cemetary and clean the graves there are lots of special foods.

http://www.lafuente.com/dead.php?ovchn=OVR&ovcpn=Misc&ovcrn=Day+Of+The+Dead+Mexico&ovtac=PPC&OVRAW=mexico%20day%20of%20the%20dead&OVKEY=mexico%20day%20of%20the%20dead&OVMTC=standard&ysmwa=0EEw43dSIfRHBz3dte83bhfjW2qltIxBW-evmNCI4uyVunEZCjXRyuD_84FWQ1ws

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