What I Love About my People

The Day of the Dead

Guadalupe Morales and Yanet Rojo

“We love this celebration because it is a wonderful social connection”

Dia de los Muertos is translated in English as “the Day of the Dead.” We have been asked to share something about our culture, the culture of our people. We are from Mexico, and one of the most revealing traditions of our people is the celebration of the sprits of our ancestors know as Dia de los Muertos, or “The Day of the Dead.”

This celebration in honor of the ancestors, past but not gone, is undertaken in many Latin American countries. In our country, Mexico, it is a public holiday. Prior to the colonization of Mexico by Spain, the celebration took place at the beginning of the summer. Gradually, it became associated with October 31st through November 1st and 2nd, so as to coincide with the Western Christian triduum of Allhallowtide: all Saints Eve, all Saints Day, and All Souls Day.

Traditions connected with the holiday include the building of private alters called ofrendas, the honoring of the deceased by using calaveras which are Aztec marigolds. Visiting the grave site of the deceased is part of the rituals, and by presenting various dishes, the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. Visitors also leave possessions of gifts leaving gifts for the deceased is also a ritual included in the tradition of the celebration.

Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances. Dating back hundreds of years, the roots of this celebration are in an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihautl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed within other deep traditions of the indigenous peoples of Mexico and Latin America.

As the chosen way of honoring the ancestors, the sprits of the dead, Dia la los Muertos, the Day of the Dead celebration, has become a national symbol,, and as such it is taught (for educational purposes) in all of the country’s public school. Many families celebrate All Saints Day which is associated with the Catholic Church, and therefore within Spanish colonization of Mexico. All Saints Day shares some of the rituals of The Day of the Dead, thereby being a hybrid tradition between indigenous and colonial Mexico. 

Originally, the Day of the Dead was not celebrated in Northern Mexico, where it was unknown until the 20th century. This is understood to be a function of the fact that the indigenous peoples of northern Mexico had different cultural traditions from those of central and southern Mexico. This is also connected to the influence of Catholicism and Spanish colonialism in northern Mexico as the Day of the Dead was associated by these social forces with paganism. The Catholic Church rejected this tradition of the peoples as something “ungodly” and atheistic.

There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and relatively few indigenous peoples were able to maintain their traditions in northern Mexico.

Where the holiday was celebrated most in Northern Mexico was a result of changed educational policies form the government of Mexico. When the holiday became a national holiday, the peoples of northern Mexico became more exposed to the traditions of the Day of the Dead. The national government introduced this national holiday as a unifying element for the country as a whole.