Monday, June 4, 2012

The Day of the Dead - The Way That South Americans Celebrate Halloween

By Linda Patterson


The month of October is considered to be one of the spookiest times of the year. Mostly, north Americans would associate it with images of pumpkins, witches and most of all candies. Yet, in the borders south of America, this time of the year is celebrated in a different way.

This Mexican celebration is commemorated within several days. The celebration would begin from the 28th of October until the 2nd of November. Lots of outsiders see the Day of the Dead as a bizarre embrace of death within a whole nation. The fact is, it is how they celebrate life, how important it is actually, and how each life must sooner or later come to an end.

The Day of the Dead, in the culture of Mexico, is celebrated in a though that the soul does not die but only journeys to a place where there is endless peace and souls can able to live on. It's the day that the souls of the passed loved ones may be welcomed back to visit the living.

For children and parents, the idea of scary toys, parades and festivals are important during this celebration. The young children are given toys and taken to watch the enormous skeletons as well as skulls stomp across the street, which makes kids' imagination work as they enjoy seeing these images, while it makes most other kids have bad dreams.

In Mexican culture as well as in the history of the Day of the Dead, altars have played a significant role. The most important point of several Mexican homes during the celebration days is an altar. Nearly all are built on a low-level table. It's covered, virtually cluttered, with images along with items that the remembered soul may find comforting to bring along their journeys to and from their place of rest. But the question is,"What is the relation of The Day of the Dead to Halloween?"

The first Day of the Dead was actually document by the Spanish conquerors which landed in the modern day Mexico. The native Aztecs were documented to have an unusual holiday which commemorated death. Following the 15th century, the name Dial de los Mueros came out from the mouths of increasingly more citizens in Mexico. With desperation, the Spaniards tried to eradicate this odd and pagan ritual.

They thought it was a morbid love of death, which made them unable to understand that it was actually celebrating the never-ending soul. The Spanish conquerors , apparently, were unable to eradicate this holiday, nonetheless they did have an enduring effect on it. The Spaniards shortened the month-long celebration in to just a few days and moved the day of the holiday so as to match the Roman Catholic's All Soul's Day beliefs.The appearance of Halloween is actually akin to that of the Day of the Dead, but really that's where most likenesses end. The youngsters of Halloween are free to follow their moms and dads, gathering up sugary snacks door-to-door, and mostly from individuals whom they do not know. In this celebration you will be able to see and enjoy a parade of light-filled spectacles with witches, vampires and giant spiders.So how does the Day of the Dead connect with Halloween? Basically, the two celebrations are timed together on account of the Catholic Church aiming to prevent or erase what they recognized as a pagan holiday.




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