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Beliefs and Customs
The origins of the celebration of The Day of the Dead in Latin America can be traced back to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, such as the Zapotec, Aztec, Maya, Purepecha, Nahual and Totonac.
Rituals celebrating the lives of dead ancestors had been performed by these Mesoamerican civilizations for at least 3,000 years. It was common practice to keep skulls as trophies and display them during rituals to symbolize death and rebirth. The festival which was to become Día de Muertos fell on the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar, near the start of August, and was celebrated for the entire month. Festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl, known as the "Lady of the Dead". The festivities were dedicated to the celebration of children and the lives of dead relatives. The Aztec tradition included the making of bread in the shape of a person which is perhaps the origin of the pan de muerte.
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When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in America in the 15th century they were appalled at the indigenous pagan practices, and in an attempt to convert the locals to Roman Catholicism moved the popular festival to the beginning of November to coincide with the Catholic All Saints Day (in which saints are honored) and All Souls Day (of observance and prayer for those who have died and those souls in purgatory). All Saints' Day is the day after Halloween, which was in turn based on the earlier pagan ritual of Samhain, the Celtic day and feast of the dead. The Spanish combined their custom of All Souls' Day with the similar Mesoamerican festival, creating the Día de lo Muertos, The Day of the Dead. This is an example of syncretism or the blending of a significant event from two different cultural traditions. Indigenous people of the Americas often would outwardly adopt the European rituals, while maintaining their original native beliefs.
The souls of children are believed to return first on November 1, with adult spirits following on November 2.
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Plans for the Day of the Dead festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods that will be offered to the dead. During the period of October 31 and November 2 families usually clean and decorate the graves and construct simple but sincere altars. Wealthier families build elaborate altars in their homes, but most simply visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas, or offerings. These include wreaths of an orange marigold (also referred to as Flor de Muerto, the "flower of the dead", in Spanish, or zempoalxochitl, (twenty-flower) in Nahuatl, a term that has been carried into modern Mexican Spanish as cempazúchil), which are thought to attract the souls of the dead toward the offerings; toys, brought for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels); and bottles of tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole for adults. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave.
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Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods and beverages dedicated to the deceased as well as pillows and blankets. The ofrendsas are left out in the homes as a welcoming gesture for the deceased. Some people believe the spirits of the deceased eat the spirit of the food, so even though they eat the food from the ofrendas after the festivity, they think it lacks nutritional value. The pillows and blankets are left out so that the deceased can rest after their long journey. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Xoxocotlán just outside of Oaxaca, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives.
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Some families do build altars or small shrines in their homes. These altars usually have the Christian cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, flowers such as marigolds, and many, many candles. Traditionally, families may spend some time around the altar telling stories about the deceased relatives as well as spend time praying.
Public schools at all levels build altars with offerings, usually omitting the religious symbols. Government offices usually have at least a small altar, as this holiday is seen as a valuable part of the Mexican heritage.
Those gifted like to write "calaveras" – short poems - mocking epitaphs of friends. This custom originated in the 18th-19th century, after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future, "and all of us were dead", proceeding to "read" the tombstones. Newspapers dedicate calaveras to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in the style of José Guadalupe Posada. Theatrical presentations of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817–1893) are also traditional on this day.
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