These days, a carnival is arranged, sweets in the form of skulls are prepared, special figures of dressed female skeletons are made - Katrina, that is, a fashionista, frantiha (Spanish: La Calavera de la Catrina).

In 2004, students from the National Autonomous University of Mexico built a wall of 5667 sugar, chocolate and caramel skulls, 2667 skulls more than the previous wall. The wall is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

On the day of the dead, cemeteries are decorated with ribbons and flowers, the roads to the houses of the dead are made by their relatives with candles so that the deceased can find their way home.

The Day of the Dead began to be celebrated on the territory of modern Mexico even by ancient peoples, such as the Olmecs and the Maya. According to scientists, rituals associated with the veneration of the dead were celebrated 2500-3000 years ago. In the period before the Spanish colonization, local residents often kept real skulls of the dead in their homes - as a kind of family heirloom, they were often shown during various rituals, they were supposed to symbolize death and resurrection.

During the Aztec Empire, a holiday similar to the Day of the Dead was celebrated in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, which falls in modern August. The Aztecs celebrated this holiday for a whole month, during which the goddess Mictlancihuatl, the goddess of death, was revered. In modern mythology, this goddess corresponds to the symbol of Katrina. In many areas of Mexico, this holiday is celebrated for two days: on November 1, dead children and babies are honored, which is also called Angel Day (Spanish: Día de los Angelitos). On November 2, on the Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Difuntos), all adult dead are honored.

Many of those who celebrate this holiday believe that on the Day dead souls the dead can be visited by living relatives and friends. On this day, people visit cemeteries to communicate with the souls of the dead, build altars with photographs and relics on the graves, bring favorite drinks and food of the dead. All this is done in order to encourage the soul of the deceased to visit the living. Sometimes celebrations take on a cheerful coloring when relatives of the deceased remember funny or funny facts from the life of the deceased at the tombstone.

The celebration of the Day of the Dead in different regions has its own differences. As a rule, they prepare for the holiday throughout the whole year, when they gradually collect things that should be on the altar of the deceased. During the celebrations on November 1 and 2, relatives decorate the graves of the dead with flowers and fruits. Very often, special flowers are used in decorations on graves - orange marigolds, which, according to legend, attract the souls of the dead. In Mexico, these flowers are called "Flowers of the Dead" (Spanish: Flor de Muerto). On Angel Day, toys for children and sweets are brought. For adults, tequila, beer and other alcoholic drinks are most often brought.

In Moscow, the Mexican Altar of the Dead can be seen during the holidays at the Instituto Cervantes, where teachers from Mexico have been building it for two years in a row.

The Day of the Dead in modern Mexico is a colorful, mystical, parodic, slightly nostalgic and childishly naive action. For those who return to earth on this day, on a special home altar, they lay out a variety of treats and those things that they loved during their lifetime (according to pagan beliefs, spirits can admire them, as well as inhale the smells of dishes prepared for them). In addition, sugar figures in the form of skulls signed with the names of deceased loved ones, pan de muertos (bread of the dead) - a special pastry with the image of crossed bones and sprinkled with sugar - and bouquets of seasonal yellow marigolds flor del muerto (it is believed that these are beloved) are often placed on the altar. flowers of the dead). Families in which someone has died in the last 12 months prepare special dishes - tamales (traditional Mexican dish from cornmeal) and atole (a hot drink made from cornmeal).

It is curious that one bed is filled with an elegant bedspread - this is a bed on which the deceased can rest after a long journey. And in some Mexican villages there is a custom to lay out with flower petals and burning candles the road from the grave of the deceased to the house where a solemn reception awaits him. This eliminates the possibility that he accidentally gets lost along the way.

Mass visits to cemeteries marks the climax of the holiday. Families not only tidy up the graves, but also arrange picnics and dances under live music, participate in noisy and cheerful festivities until late at night.

Day of the Dead in Mexico is a national holiday and public holiday.

Difference from Halloween

It should be noted that although the Day of the Dead and Halloween have a similar origin and a number of related traits, this is absolutely different holidays. Halloween has more to do with fear evil spirit who managed to get out of other worlds. The Day of the Dead is a hospitable invitation to friendly spirits to earth and honoring them at a common table. Nevertheless, the contagious tradition of celebrating Halloween is also making its way into Mexico. Along with special Day of the Dead merchandise, sugar skulls, papier-mâché skeletons and pan de muertos, lantern gourds and vampire fangs are sold in large quantities in stores. And in the big cities in the northwest, children have even adopted the trick-or-treat tradition, only boys and girls dressed in witch and dracula costumes beg for the sweet symbol of the Day of the Dead - calaverita (chocolate or sugar skull).

AT holidays crowds of tourists are usually collected by San Andres Mishquik, part of Mexico City, where the only cemetery open to the public is located within the capital. In addition to classical customs, there are funny Games, concerts and folk dances, as well as a very curious procession with a cardboard coffin. At the end, the “dead man” suddenly jumps out of the coffin and runs away with all his might to the friendly laughter of the crowd.

To those who possess strong nerves and wants to see the pagan rituals come to life, it is worth going to the Mayan city of Pomuch. Here, on the eve of the Day of the Dead, a terrible ceremony is held to exhume the remains of the dead. Three years after the burial, the human bones are taken out of the coffin, cleaned, carefully placed in a beautifully decorated name box and put on public display in the cemetery. After the celebrations, the remains are placed in a special storage. The ceremony is repeated the following year. It is believed that this kind of blasphemous in the understanding of many manipulations is a sign of respect and care. If they are not held, the souls of the dead will disturb their living relatives and will not be able to go home on a holiday.

The last post about the history of Katrina was a kind of excursion into ancient history Mexico and ended in 1947, and the next important date in the creation of the modern holiday was the 1960s, because it was at this time that the Mexican government, for cultural and political purposes, decided to make the Day of the Dead a national holiday and spread traditions throughout the country.

The fact is that this holiday originally in Mexico had great importance only in its southern parts, as well as in neighboring Belize and Guatemala, where the ancient Mayan and Aztec Indian civilizations once existed.

Moreover, this holiday was associated with local local customs to such an extent that even its local names could be different. In the Yucatán Peninsula it was called Hanal Pixan (Mayan for "The path of the soul through the essence of food"), in the mountains of Michoacán it was called Jimbanqua, and in the states of San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo and South Oaxaca they used the name Xantolo (Xantolo ). But in the north of Mexico, where the Indians were more like North American, that is, nomads, the Day of the Dead somehow was not particularly popular and was not celebrated.

In the 1960s, as is known, the colonial system collapsed in the world, countries all over the world gained independence and national self-consciousness.

And although Mexico at that time was already an independent country, with national identity maybe there were some problems.

Personally, it seems to me that the Mexicans did not want to look like the descendants of savage barbarians, as the Spaniards once described them. Mexicans wanted to look like the descendants of a centuries-old civilization with their own roots, cultural identity and traditions.

And some national holiday or holidays could become the basis for such an idea of ​​Mexican civilization that unites the country.

Apparently, the Independence Day of Mexico was not enough, and the Day of the Dead was associated with the ancient Indian civilization that lived on the territory of Mexico before the arrival of the Spaniards and had a pronounced cultural background dating back centuries. And it was declared a national holiday.

And now it is the most beloved national holiday dedicated to the memory of the dead, on which, according to legend, the souls of deceased relatives visit native home. In order to meet them as cordially as possible, families build altars in honor of the deceased relatives, both at home and in the cemetery, decorate them with sugar skulls (I remind you that among the ancient Aztecs, the skull of the deceased was often kept at home, as the dwelling of the TONALLI soul, which was responsible for love and fire, this was discussed in the previous part), favorite foods and drinks of the deceased, candles, toys and flowers, primarily orange marigolds.

sugar skulls

Cemetery grave decoration

In terms of significance and spending, this is the most important Mexican holiday of the year, families often spend all their earnings for a couple of months to build a decent altar, which will not be ashamed, and which will show deceased relatives who came to visit how they are remembered in the family and love.

Altar for the deceased

Even in Mexico, there is a tradition, at least in the villages, to dress in the clothes of the dead and smear the face with white paint so that a deceased relative who comes to visit does not feel somehow very "different" with his skull instead of a face. And fancy costumes are often referred to as "Dapper Skeleton" or "Elegant Skull", which is why these words are now synonymous with Katrina.

Altar for the deceased

It is also popular to organize a party with compars.

Comparsa is a group of amateur artists, singers, musicians and dancers in the Spanish and Latin American world who take part in some folk festivals, often some specific carnivals.

Comparsa on stilts during the celebration of Dia de Los Muertos

As I wrote in a previous post, on the Day of the Dead in Mexico it is popular to invent and read literary calaveras - comic poems - epitaphs in honor of the dead. In addition, Mexico is a country of mariachis and very beautiful music. So in Mexican culture there are a huge number of songs performed especially for the Day of the Dead, just as in English-speaking countries there are a huge number of songs performed especially for Christmas.

And since I'm here to educate people about Mexican culture and this particular holiday, I'll post some of the most famous of these Day of the Dead songs.

The author of the song La Llorona (Weeping Woman) is unknown, but it was created somewhere on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca. The song tells a story of love and pain in a style typical of the Mexican Revolution.

The story of La Llorona refers to the legend of the Mexican goddess Chihuaatl, who, just before the arrival of the Spaniards, knowing the terrifying future of her Mexican children that awaited them after the conquest by the Spaniards, sobbed loudly on the walls of Tenochtitlan, and her cry was heard

The song La Bruja was written by José Gutierrez and the Ochoa brothers and is about an unmarried woman who was trying to find a man and take him over. Behind this song is the legend of a woman known as the "Witch of Huasteca", very popular in Veracruz.

The song "El día de Muertos" or "Day of the Dead" conveys very well the idea of ​​how the Indians felt about death, talking about the pain caused by unrequited love. It is one of the most popular romantic melodies in the "pireris" songbooks and is always played on holiday

The song "La Calaca" ("The Skeleton"), which was written by José Hernandez and immortalized by Amparo Ochoa, talks about what happens in Mexico City's largest cemetery, the Panteone Dolores. It narrates about various events taking place around death and kalaki. The Mexicans have an expression se lo (la) llevó la calaca - he was taken by a kalaka / skeleton, which means that a person died, death took him.

The song "Viene la Muerte Echando Rasero" talks about the fact that skin color, race, religion, age or something else does not matter in the face of death, death will overtake each of us and in the end we will all be there.

Well, these popular songs are sung at festivities in Mexico during the celebration of the Day of the Dead.

In most villages and small towns in Mexico, a comparsa is just a group of locals without any mind-blowing theatrical or vocal talents. This is pure folk festivities with artistic performance at the level of self-activity.

However, there are tourist spots in Mexico where compars have been made more professional and commercial in order to attract tourists. In particular, one of these very famous places is the city of Oaxaca, where the performance of compars is called a festival.

And this is what a comparsa looks like in the city of Tempoal de Sanchez

These two videos are traditional compars performances. That is, traditionally, there are no special parades and processions for you in a special column at the cemetery or somewhere else. In the end, visiting the cemetery is a personal and family matter; they don’t march there in a column. Stage (square in the center of the city / village) for performances, folk dances, folk costumes.

So where did the tradition of the carnival parade led by Katrina come from?

Skeletons, decaying corpses, reanimated dead... Brrr! But this isn't a cemetery photo or a zombie movie - it's Day of the Dead in Mexico. And today you will read about this unusual holiday on the website "Me and the World".

"Merry" carnival

On what date is a joyful meeting with beloved dead relatives celebrated? Dates of celebration - November 1 and 2 - a day of remembrance for young children and, accordingly, adults. These days in Mexico, the dead are “rising”, and people rejoice and have fun, because they have the opportunity to meet with deceased relatives.

Why the holiday has such a name, we think it is clear. The history of this day begins with the Aztecs and Mayans, who kept the skulls of dead relatives and from time to time used them for their intended purpose, that is, resurrecting and sacrificing them for sacred rituals. It was sacrifices that were considered great respect for the dead, so the bloody days lasted a whole month in the summer in honor of the Goddess of the underworld.

Over the centuries, the conquerors tried to eradicate terrible traditions, but they only managed to cancel the bloody sacrifices and reduce the holiday to 2-3 days.

But it did not work out to replace unbridled joy with sadness for the dead, and the skull remained the main attribute of the Day of the Dead. By ancient tradition, Mexicans believe that the dead continue to live in another world, but every year for a few days they are allowed to return to the world of the living and see their beloved relatives.

Beautiful ritual

These days are celebrated across the country, schools and businesses are closed, and preparations begin months in advance. Colorful costumes and masks are made, large dolls of human height and above are invented, and flowers are ordered so much that they are brought on trucks.

Every house has an altar decorated with unusual drawings and yellow marigolds (flowers of the dead). At the altar, there must be offerings: candles, cornmeal dishes, various fruits, children's toys and alcoholic wines. Be sure to put dishes with water and special sweet bread, because it is believed that the dead will definitely want to drink and eat after crossing into our world. After the day's chores - cooking a lot of favorite food of deceased relatives and tidying up the house - the whole family gathers in one room to meet relatives and friends.

In every store you can buy art objects: skulls and skeletons, and, in general, they are everywhere: on clothes, walls, on the road. Turtles mostly "smile", because it's a fun holiday. And in the confectionery, they buy shards on sticks for kids - a kind of sweet candy. If you are presented with a coffin or a skull with your name on it, don't be scared - it's from the bottom of your heart!

Be sure to do a colorful make-up in the image of the popular Katrina. Who is this? A sweet, beautiful and rich woman from an engraving by a Mexican artist who wants to show that everyone is mortal: both beggars and oligarchs. Usually girls and women wear an outfit from the beginning of the last century, where a hat is required, but you can just paint your face and weave flowers into your hair. Men are not far behind, painting their faces in the form of skulls. Guys with beards look especially colorful.

Distinctive features

In small towns and villages, the celebration traditionally ends in cemeteries, at the graves of relatives, where they are escorted alive at the end of the holiday. Sincerely sitting at night at the burial sites, everyone returns home.

But in large metropolitan areas, fun takes place on a grand scale: festivals, parades and processions are simply a must these days. First the musicians come and play with such fervor that the dead can really "wake up". They are joined by all and sundry and this procession moves through the streets, and without a pre-planned route, cutting circles around the city. In 2017, more than a million people took part in the parade of the dead in the Mexican capital. This 2018 you can order a tour for 3 days and 2 nights with a Russian-speaking guide from November 1 to November 3.

The brightest celebration takes place on the island of Janicio. Duck hunting begins early in the morning, and at midnight birds are taken to the cemetery. In the light of hundreds of candles, women pray and men sing songs. Everything ends when the first rays of the sun touch the earth, and the night begins to gradually “melt”.

Almost at the same time that the rather scary Halloween is being celebrated in Europe, Mexicans are pitting fear and horror against the fun of the Day of the Dead. They believe that it is not worth scaring the spirits with a stupid pumpkin, it is better to remember the dead relatives with joy, and the spirits certainly will not do anything bad to the living.

And remember the name of a beautiful Russian holiday, when sweet Easter cakes are baked and the dead also return. Easter in Russia can also be compared with the Mexican joyful Day of the Dead. It seems to us that there is no need for terrible holidays, the world is already so restless, so let's have fun more often and celebrate events joyfully!

Video

In Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador. According to legend, these days the souls of deceased relatives visit their homes. The tradition goes back to the Mayans and the Aztecs, who brought gifts to the goddess Mictlancihuatl and built walls depicting skulls - tsompantly. The celebration coincides with two Catholic holidays - All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2). Traditions associated with the holiday include setting up private altars in honor of the deceased, including sugar skulls, vervain, the deceased's favorite foods and drinks, and visiting the grave with these gifts.

On the day of the dead, cemeteries are decorated with ribbons and flowers, the roads to the houses of the dead are made by their relatives with candles so that the deceased can find their way home. The Day of the Dead is a day to celebrate life.

The origin of the holiday

The Day of the Dead began to be celebrated on the territory of modern Mexico even by ancient peoples, such as the Olmecs and the Maya. According to scientists, rituals associated with the veneration of the dead were celebrated as early as 2,500 - 3,000 years ago. In the period before the Spanish colonization, local residents often kept real skulls of the dead in their homes - as a kind of family heirloom, they were often shown during various rituals, they were supposed to symbolize death and resurrection.

During the Aztec Empire, a holiday similar to the Day of the Dead was celebrated in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar, which falls in modern August. The Aztecs celebrated this holiday for a whole month, during which the goddess Mictlanciuatl, the goddess of death, was revered. In modern mythology, this goddess corresponds to the symbol of Katrina. In many areas of Mexico, this holiday is celebrated for two days: on November 1, dead children and babies are honored, which is also called the Day of the Angels (Spanish. Dia de los Angelitos). November 2, Day of the Dead (Spanish) Dia de los Difuntos) revere all adult dead.

Cultural and religious significance

Many of those who celebrate this holiday believe that on the Day of the Dead, the souls of the dead can visit living relatives and friends. On this day, people visit cemeteries to communicate with the souls of the dead, build altars with photographs and relics on the graves, bring favorite drinks and food of the dead. All this is done in order to encourage the soul of the deceased to visit the living. Sometimes celebrations take on a cheerful coloring when relatives of the deceased remember funny or funny facts from the life of the deceased at the tombstone.

The celebration of the Day of the Dead varies from region to region. As a rule, they prepare for the holiday throughout the whole year, when they gradually collect things that should be on the altar of the deceased. During the celebrations on November 1 and 2, relatives decorate the graves of the dead with flowers and fruits. Very often, special flowers are used in decorations on graves - orange marigolds, which, according to legend, attract the souls of the dead. In Mexico, these flowers are called "Flowers of the Dead" (Spanish. Flor de Muerto). On Angel Day, toys for children and sweets are brought. For adults, tequila, beer and other alcoholic drinks are most often brought.

Literature

• Octavio Paz. All Saints' Day, the Feast of the Dead // He. Poetry. Criticism. Erotica. Moscow: Russian Phenomenological Society, 1996, p. 22-35.
• Ray Bradbury . All Hallows' Eve, Sugar Skull

see also

Notes

Links

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Day of the Dead" is in other dictionaries:

- (Spanish Día de los Muertos) a holiday dedicated to the memory of the dead, held annually on November 1 and 2 in Mexico. According to legend, these days the souls of deceased relatives visit their homes. The tradition goes back to the Mayans and the Aztecs, who brought gifts ... ... Wikipedia

Day of the Dead: Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de los Muertos) is a holiday dedicated to the memory of the dead, held annually on November 1-2 in Mexico. Day of the Dead (Babylon 5) See also ... ... Wikipedia

Day of the Dead has the following values: Day of the Dead Mexican celebration of the memory of the dead. Day of the Dead (Babylon 5) episode of the 1998 TV series Babylon 5. Day of the Dead (film) horror film by George Romero ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Day of the Dead (meanings). Day of the Dead TV series Babylon 5 ... Wikipedia

This term has other meanings, see Vampire (meanings). Vampires: Day of the Dead Vampires: Los Muertos ... Wikipedia

Day of the Dead (film, 1985) This term has other meanings, see Day of the Dead. Day of the Dead Day of the Dead ... Wikipedia

Day of the Dead (Spanish Día de los Muertos) is a holiday dedicated to the memory of the dead, taking place annually on November 1 and 2 in Mexico. According to legend, these days the souls of deceased relatives visit their homes. The tradition goes back to the Mayans and the Aztecs, who ... ... Wikipedia

- (Eng. Day of the Dead): Day of the Dead (film, 1985) horror film, USA, 1985. Directed by George Romero. Day of the Dead (film, 2008) horror film, USA, 2008. Directed by Steve Miner. See also Day of the Dead 2: ... ... Wikipedia

Day of the Dead Day of the Dead Genre Horror Film Director George Romero Producer Richard Rubinstein ... Wikipedia

Mexicans are a special people. Who else, if not the Mayan ancestor, would think of turning the memory of the dead into a holiday, and even the most popular holiday in the country? On the "Day of the Dead" in Mexican cemeteries, they drink, dance and have fun, so is it any wonder at skeleton carnivals?

The roots of the tradition to celebrate the holiday "Day of the Dead" (Day of the Dead) go back to 2500-3000. The celebration took place in the ninth month of the Aztec calendar. But since the Spaniards joined the "Day of the Dead", the holiday was postponed to the end of October - the beginning of November. Today, the holiday also begins to be celebrated on October 31. On this day, it is customary to commemorate the dead children. For this reason, the first two days of the holiday are called "Little Angels' Day". November 1 and 2 are already commemorating the adult dead.

On the Day of the Dead, people dressed as female skeletons called Katrina take to the streets of Mexico. Colorful street processions take place in different ways. In some parts of the country, they take place in the form of funeral processions - people arrange gloomy torchlight processions. In others, people prefer to have fun - singing, drinking and dancing.

In the evening people go to cemeteries where their loved ones are buried. In a humorous tone, the Mexicans communicate with the souls of the dead. Then the fun begins in the cemetery - people drink, eat, dance, and also tear their clothes and sprinkle ashes on their heads. In the morning, the interlocutors of the dead go home.

The main symbol of the holiday is a skull. Also, people willingly buy gloomy lanterns and treat children with creepy-looking lollipops. This mexican tradition reminiscent of Halloween.

The holiday attracts tourists from all over the world. In 2004, the "Day of the Dead" was recognized by UNESCO as a heritage of mankind. There is a mention of the holiday in the Guinness Book of Records - in the same year, students built a wall of 5667 edible skulls.