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Dia De Los Muertos—the Day of the Dead is considered the most representative tradition of Mexican culture. The celebration takes place in two days: on November 1 is dedicated to the soul of children and on November 2 to that of adults. Although marked throughout Latin America, Dia de los Muertos is most strongly associated with Mexico, where the tradition originated. Dia De Los Muertos honors the dead and encourages families to come together to remember those who they have lost. It is a time for prayer, celebrations, festivals, and spiritual journeys. The custom combines indigenous Aztec rituals with Catholicism. Dia De Los Muertos is celebrated on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, minor holidays in the Catholic calendar.
Death has had different manifestations in different cultures, whether through literature or music, or through customs and sacred rites. The fear and taboo surrounding death in today’s Western civilizations is understandable. Mexican/Latin culture has been able to give it a very particular comprehensive, solemn and festive point of view, which allows for acceptance of death. Death is a process, a part of life’s journey. Calaveras(Skulls) are a reminder to enjoy life and embrace mortality. The use calaveras is a way of acknowledging that life is sacred and that death is a rite of passage. In Latin America, the inevitable should not be feared or avoided but faced with smiles and celebrations.
The indigenous people of Mexico and Latin America had a concept of death which differed from the ideals that were brought over by the Spanish. The earliest known celebrations date back 7000 years ago. Practices were adapted by various indigenous people, then by larger indigenous nations like the Olmec and by the Aztecs. The Aztecs believed that death was the beginning of a journey to Mictlán(the Underworld). There are several theories about Mictlán as a city of the dead, but all agree that this kingdom was separated by 13 heavens and 9 underworlds. Each traveler, depending on the life he or she had taken, should be addressed to one of them. Funerary rituals were sacred to the Aztec and Mayan cultures. When a loved one died, the body was buried with different objects: among them were the belongings of the deceased and those elements that the relatives believed the traveler could need in his journey to the underworld. Mictlan was reached by the dead only after wandering through obstacles for four years beneath the earth, accompanied by a “soul-companion”, a dog which was customarily cremated with the corpse. At the end of the journey, their souls would be at rest. Originally, Dia de los Muertos was celebrated using the Aztec calendar, From June 7th through August 20th
After the arrival of the Spaniards, the expansion of Christianity began and indigenous traditions began to be cast aside. The concept of hell and heaven was introduced as punishment or reward. The Spanish missionaries changed the dates of Aztec rituals to the Christian holidays of All Souls and All Saints day. In the colonial era, many of the traditions of the ancient peoples were almost lost. Christian evangelization did encounter strong resistance on the part of the natives. To take away their traditions was to take away their identity, and that was something the indigenous Mexicans/Latinos were not willing to negotiate.
Today, Day of the Dead is a combination of different cultures and beliefs. In Mexico’s tradition, people die three deaths. The first death is when our bodies cease to function; when our hearts no longer beat of their own accord, when our gaze no longer has depth or weight, when the space we occupy slowly loses its meaning. The second death comes when the body is lowered into the ground, returned to mother earth, out of sight. The third death, the most definitive death, is when there is no one left alive to remember us.
Each November 2nd brings the bells of the church, accompanied by rites including the creation of an Ofrenda(Altar of the dead) It is believed that Marigolds (cempasuchil), Skulls(Calaveras), prayers and other symbols help departed souls return to the earth to be among their loved ones.