Day of the Dead (Spanish: El Día de los Muertos)

Day of the Dead (Spanish: El Día de los Muertos)

Culture,Intangible Heritage

It is an important festival in Mexico. This intangible cultural heritage is a time when people gather in cemeteries to pray for their loved ones and bring them the food and wine they once enjoyed. The event takes place every year from October 31 to November 2. The origins of this traditional holiday may be traced back to rituals performed by the ancient Aztec people, who honored the dead by placing skulls on Aztec temples more than a thousand years before the Day of the Dead. But it has evolved throughout history and is now a huge annual world festival. In addition to the food, the building of the altar was also an essential part of the festival, with Christian crosses, skulls made of clay, and other colorful artistic designs placed around the altar along with yellow cempasúchil flowers. It is believed that the scent of the flower will guide departing spirits to find their way home. Mexicans use this unique way of remembering and communicating with the dead, and as Pixar's 2017 film Coco suggests, people don't really die until their loved ones forget about them.

the ancient Aztecs people

is51102023

3,000 years

jn73@st-andrews.ac.uk

English

Intangible

803

09/05/2023

https://www.history.com/news/day-dead-dia-de-muertos-origins

cm x cm x cm

HiSTORY (Website homepage: https://www.history.co.uk/)

current,22.5000001,-100.4949145;

TEXT

1683