Mexican Traditions: DAY OF THE DEAD

TODAY IS HALLOWEEN!!!

One of my favorite holidays.

I have adopted this Holiday

because its fun and I adore costumes.

BUT I´M MEXICAN AND AS MUCH AS I LOVE TO ADOPT CUSTOMS

FROM OTHER COUNTRIES;

I EMBRACE MY CULTURE, AND AT HOME WE ALSO

CELEBRATE THE DAY OF THE DEAD.

Halloween and Day of the Dead have somethings in common:

celebrating souls that are not living with us anymore.

In Halloween people dress up as ghouls, ghosts,

mummies and skeletons,

so spirits can confuse them and will not do them

any harm on the 31st.

And November 1st and 2nd Day of the Dead

we celebrate the Dead by

visiting their graves with their favorite food,

or making altars with

drinks, food, some of their favorite

things that our beloved ones

enjoyed while they where alive.

We decorate with candles, photos and flowers.

The Day of the Dead is also celebrated in some

Latin American countries.

For example, it is a public holiday in Brazil,

when people visit churches

and cemeteries. This holiday is also observed in the

Philippines. In the United States,

The Day of the Dead is also observed as a holiday among

Mexican-American communities. So, while majority of

America celebrates Halloween on October 31st night,

the Hispanic population considers The Day of the Dead as a special

event honoring the dead. In Mexico it is a

traditional holiday.

El día de Muertos is not a sad time, but instead a time of

remembering and rejoicing.

Families prepare an altar

decorated with flowers, bread, fruits and candy.

Pictures of deceased family members are kept on that altar.

In late afternoon, candles are lit, as to remember the departed souls.

Just as in the United States, there are Halloween special recipes and treats,

Day of the Dead is also celebrated with unique and weird recipes like

chocolate skulls, marzipan coffins, white chocolate skeletons,

milk chocolate bones.

There are skeleton figurines, skeletal brides, evil dolls,

spirit and ghost figures, are quite popular

gift and home décor items.

November 1st and 2nd can be a wonderful

time to visit Mexico,

as you will get to see a celebration full of flowers

and chocolates.

People parade through the streets dressed as

skeletons and

ghosts and candles are meant to burn all night.

We have culture which believes in a vibrant afterlife

and remembers the departed ones with joy!