The sugar skulls are decorated brightly and uniquely to represent the deceased’s individual personality as well as the vitality of life. Instead, these are preserved and placed on the altars to the deceased as ‘ofrendas’, or offerings. Sugar skulls, one of the most common icons of the holiday, are not even eaten most of the time. This had to do with the annual migration of Monarch butterflies through Mexico in the fall, as these were believed to be the spirits of the deceased passing through to visit.ĭía de los Muertos food was also important because many of these dishes and items were symbolic of the spirit’s survival and its journey into the afterlife. The Aztecs also believed that tears of grief and mourning “would make the spirit’s path treacherous and slippery” (Godoy and Farfán) and that, from October 31-November 2, the deceased had a brief opportunity to leave the spirit world and come visit their living relatives. The living did not want to offend or insult the deceased with mourning or sadness instead of mourning their deaths, their lives would be celebrated with consumables and activities that they had enjoyed. Día de los Muertos is celebrated throughout Latin America, and this Aztec history is a key part of the reason that it is most strongly associated with Mexico.ĭía de los Muertos started with a belief that death was not to be mourned, but instead celebrated, as the deceased would be moving on to the spirit world. The celebration falls on All Souls Day and All Saints Day-Catholic holidays-but its roots are firmly planted in Aztec culture. While the holiday has been heavily influenced by Catholic and American cultures since its inception, there are many aspects of it that remain true to its origins. don’t understand exactly why it is that these specific things are important in Mexican culture. Many people have become familiar with the iconography of Día de los Muertos, after the success of movies like Disney’s Coco (2017), which includes sugar skulls, pan dulce, and home altars to the departed-but many people in the U.S. Issue 6: Brave New Worlds: Utopias and Dystopias.Issue 1: Historical Hauntings & Modern-Day Manifestations.The colorful designs represent the vitality of life and individual personality.□ Find us on Twitter! □ Tweets by Categories Sugar skulls: Elaborately decorated skulls are crafted from pure sugar and given to friends as gifts. Of course, many people who celebrate this holiday will pick and choose from among these symbolic items: "This day is a joyous occasion it's a time to gather with everyone in your family, those alive and those dead," he says.ĭuring the Spanish conquest, Catholic leaders exerted their influence on the tradition, and the resulting mash-up created the Day of the Dead celebration as we now know it.Įverything on an altar has special meaning, and if you want to try this at home, we've decoded the elaborate altar created for the Smithsonian. Hayes Lavis, cultural arts curator for the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, says that mourning was not allowed because it was believed the tears would make the spirit's path treacherous and slippery. That's where the food, drink and music offerings come in. Instead, the Aztecs celebrated their lives and welcomed the return of their spirits to the land of the living once a year. The Aztecs developed the ritual some 3,000 years ago because they believed one should not grieve the loss of a beloved ancestor who passed. It is also practice to visit the ancestral burial ground to celebrate with picnics and music. And read our story below to learn more about the food and drink of the Day of the Dead.Īltar: Altars are used to welcome the ancestors' spirits into the home. Watch our NPR Live video above to see Jinich's full cooking technique, part of our live cooking show, Passport Kitchen. To help us celebrate, we asked Mexican chef Pati Jinich to show us how to cook her favorite kind: chicken tamales in green salsa. There are hundreds and hundreds of types of tamales, which can come with sweet or savory fillings such as beef, pork, chicken or cheese. And food and drink are a big part of the festivities - they are ofrendas, or offerings, put on altars to entice deceased loved ones to come back for a visit.Īmong the most popular food offerings are tamales - delicious little packages of masa, or dough made from corn flour, wrapped in aromatic leaves, usually corn husks or banana leaves, and steam cooked. In Mexico, celebrations for el Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, are already in full swing.
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