Día de los Muertos

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Recipes. "Honor the departed, then offer up champurrado, sugary pan de muerto, tamales, calabacitas and turkey in black mole at your Día de los Muertos celebration." from the LA Times

History of Día de los Muertos:

"When the Spaniards and the Portuguese came to the New World, they brought many traditions. Popular festivals were the best way to transmit national mores. On the other hand, inhabitants of the New World had their own celebrations, different but at the same time similar, that honored their gods. Eventually both traditions blended, creating a hybrid culture that has influenced all popular festivals in the New World. Some festivals appear to be more Iberian in nature than local (Amerindian, African) or vice versa; however, without a doubt these festivals incorporate elements from both traditions. Some ancient popular festivals such as the pre-Christian cult of the dead in northern Europe survived in All Saints’ Day in the Christian tradition. It then migrated to the New World and mixed with Mesoamerican celebrations of the dead, giving birth to the well-known popular celebration of the Day of the Dead. El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is an important celebration for Mexicans, and the vast majority of people participate yearly. All Saints’ Day or All Souls’ Day exists in most Catholic countries, but its celebration in Greater Mexico (Mexican territory and the Mexican Diaspora) is highly distinct.

In other Catholic countries, there are church services; people visit their dead relatives’ graves, but this is not like Mexican or Central American celebrations. Mexico has its own unique interpretation of this traditional Catholic ceremony because of the fusion of its Spanish and indigenous cultural heritages. The syncretism between the Aztec concept of death in Mesoamerica and Spanish Catholicism gave birth to an exuberant Día de los Muertos celebration. Such a festival takes place every year on November 1 and 2. This celebration honors deceased loved ones. On November 1, the celebration honors the children who passed away. On November 2, Mexicans honor deceased adults. On the Day of the Dead, the souls of the deceased are believed to come back to meet and share food, drinks, and time with their families. From the eye of the casual observer, the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico have more indigenous elements than Christian ones, but close examination confirms that most of the elements are Christian. What makes it different from the All Saints’ Day celebrations in other parts of the Latin America is the essence of the festival.

The Day of the Dead and other popular festivals consist of two distinct spheres: the public and the private. The public sphere celebration takes place in the cemetery. People visit the cemetery; they clean and decorate the graves, and they eat with their relatives. The second element of the celebration is considered a private ritual and includes home altars with ofrendas, or offerings. Everybody, without exception, has a reason for rejoicing because they are honoring the deceased relatives. Ofrendas are used yearly to welcome the souls of relatives who come from the other world. This practice is very important and has been recognized in Mesoamerica since approximately 2000 bc.

The Aztecs believed that all souls went to Mixtlan, the 'paradise of the dead.' They did not have the concept of a hell that caused suffering and pain. For them, the transcendence of the dead did not depend on moral conduct. The Aztecs built ofrendas for the souls of their relatives to ensure that their departed loved ones enjoyed the same things they had appreciated in the world of the living and to make their stay in the afterlife more comfortable. The objects placed in the ofrenda represented the things given by the living to the dead so that they could continue their existence in Mixtlan. It was important that those left behind felt that they were comforting their deceased relatives in every way possible.

When the Spanish arrived in 1521, many of the existing ideas and customs were gradually blended into the calendar of the Catholic Church. After the Spanish conquest, the ofrenda became a mixture of indigenous and Spanish traditions. The fusion of cultural elements appears in the ofrendas presented to the dead. In contemporary Mexico, the ofrendas represent the highest artistic and ideological expression of the people. They contain a large amount of religious symbolism, beliefs, and ordinary customs. Many elements from both indigenous and European traditions are used in this celebration. It is now extremely difficult to distinguish what elements came from Spain and which ones are indigenous to Mexico."

excerpt from:
"Popular Festivals." Iberia and the Americas: Culture, Politics, and History. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Credo Reference. Web. 31 October 2011.