Dia de Los Muertos Presentation
Thanks, ___________________
I’m going to go into a little more detail of how Halloween is celebrated in Mexico. In Mexico, they celebrate Dia de los Muertos or day of the dead. Today, it is a celebration to honor all of their loved ones who have passed, but that’s not how it began.
Dia de los muertos celebrations in Mexico began with the indigenous pagan cultures. These rituals celebrated the deaths of loved ones and have been recorded as far as 2,500 years ago. The modern day version of dia de los muertos began as a month long celebration during the ninth month of the Aztec calendar (beginning around early august). These festivities were dedicated to the goddess known as the lady of the dead. Today, it is a 2 day celebration on November 1st and 2nd.
November 1st is celebrated as dia de los angelitos and is connected with the Christian holiday All Saints Day. This day is dedicated to celebrating the lives all of the babies and children who have died. November 2nd is celebrated as dia de los muertos and is dedicated to celebrating the lives of all family members who have died. This date coincides with all Souls Day
Today, Dia de los muertos is celebrated differently all across México. November 1st begins with cleaning the gravesites of debris and decorating them with flowers and candles. After this is done, an altar is constructed in a room in the home.
The altar includes four main elements of nature – earth, wind, water, and fire. Earth is represented by harvest. They believe that the souls are fed by the aroma of food. Wind is represented by a moving object such as tissue paper or flower garlands. Water is placed in a container for the soul to quench its thirst after the long journey to the altar. Fire is represented by a candle. Each lit candle represents a soul and an extra one is lit to represent the wandering soul. Marigolds are used to decorate the graves and the altar – they are the only flower allowed to decorate during this
I’m going to go into a little more detail of how Halloween is celebrated in Mexico. In Mexico, they celebrate Dia de los Muertos or day of the dead. Today, it is a celebration to honor all of their loved ones who have passed, but that’s not how it began.
Dia de los muertos celebrations in Mexico began with the indigenous pagan cultures. These rituals celebrated the deaths of loved ones and have been recorded as far as 2,500 years ago. The modern day version of dia de los muertos began as a month long celebration during the ninth month of the Aztec calendar (beginning around early august). These festivities were dedicated to the goddess known as the lady of the dead. Today, it is a 2 day celebration on November 1st and 2nd.
November 1st is celebrated as dia de los angelitos and is connected with the Christian holiday All Saints Day. This day is dedicated to celebrating the lives all of the babies and children who have died. November 2nd is celebrated as dia de los muertos and is dedicated to celebrating the lives of all family members who have died. This date coincides with all Souls Day
Today, Dia de los muertos is celebrated differently all across México. November 1st begins with cleaning the gravesites of debris and decorating them with flowers and candles. After this is done, an altar is constructed in a room in the home.
The altar includes four main elements of nature – earth, wind, water, and fire. Earth is represented by harvest. They believe that the souls are fed by the aroma of food. Wind is represented by a moving object such as tissue paper or flower garlands. Water is placed in a container for the soul to quench its thirst after the long journey to the altar. Fire is represented by a candle. Each lit candle represents a soul and an extra one is lit to represent the wandering soul. Marigolds are used to decorate the graves and the altar – they are the only flower allowed to decorate during this