How was Dia de Los Muertos celebrated in Mexico 2018?
Dia de Los Muertos is one of the most colourful traditions that is celebrated across Mexico. On the 1st of November, families came together to celebrate the lives of their dead relatives.
What is Dia De Los Muertos?
Watch this video from the National Geographic.
Dia de Los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead” is a celebration where families, traditionally in Mexico, come to celebrate both life and death, through colour and pure joy. Mexicans and people from other Spanish-speaking countries take this time to show love and respect to lost loved ones. While death can of course be upsetting, this is a happy occassion as Mexicans believe that their ancestors temporarily come to earth to join in the celebrations with their families.
Where did it originate?
The tradition started 2,000 years ago by the people of Mexico who believed it was disrespectful to mourn the dead. They believed that they should be remembered in life rather than death. This is where the tradition originated and over the years this festival has become more and more elaborate.
Altars
The centrepiece of the celebration is the altars, or “ofrendas”, that are found in the homes of many across Mexico. The ofreda is used to welcome relatives to the living world. On the altar you will find water, to quench the thirst of their relatives after the long journey, along with food and photos of lost family. The marigold is the flower that is traditionally found scattered around the ofrenda and at the graveside of the family member. Marigold’s are traditionally used to guide wandering souls back to their place of rest. Smoke is created using copal insense, which is a made from tree resin, this is used to purify the air around the ofrenda and offer prayer and praise to the spirits.
Dia De Los Muertos 2018
A parade was held in Mexico City to start off the festivities of the day of dead. This parade started in 2016 after it was inspired by the parade seen in James Bond’s, Spectre. This year the parade was based around the theme of migration. The city’s government decided to base the parade around those who have lost their live in transit across the US border. During the parade there were people carrying part of Trump’s new border wall. The wall said across it , in Spanish, ‘On this side there is also a dream’. However in spite of political issues, the traditional celebration continued through the 1st and 2nd of November.
- By Anna Lloyd, Team Reporter
- Sources- The BBC, National Geographic
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