USA Today - 31.10.2019

THE DAY OF THE DEAD

Día de los Muertos,or the Day of the
Dead, often is confused as the Mexican
Halloween because of its use of skele-
tons and when the holiday is celebrat-
ed: Oct. 31 to Nov. 2. It’s actually an
Aztec holiday that originated in south-
ern Mexico and celebrates the remem-
brance of family members and friends
who have died. During this time, it is
believed that the passageway between
the real world and the spirit world
opens so loved ones who have died are
able to come back and visit. It is a holi-
day for family and friends to make
peace with the inevitability of death
and to remember loved ones. Today,

the holiday is celebrated throughout

Mexico and many parts of the USA.

Days of celebration

Flowers, food, altars and music are an

essential part of the festivities. Family

members clean and decorate the grave-

sites of loved ones with skulls, garlands,

candles and marigold flowers. Foods

such as sugar skulls, sweet bread rolls

and drinks are placed alongside clay

decorations and personal items on

Ofrendas (altars) to memorialize those

who have passed. Family members

believe their loved ones will feast on

the “essence” of the foods from the

altars – either a table at home or on the

grave itself.

Honoring the departed, in living color

SOURCE dayofthedead.holiday/history; britannica.com and USA TODAY research

JANET LOEHRKE/USA TODAY

Items often found on Ofrendas

Bottles of tequila or Atole,

a traditional hot corn-based

beverage

Christian images

like the

Virgin Mary

Pictures of the

deceased loved ones

Personal mementos that Paper garlands

belong to the deceased

Sugar

skulls

Marigold flower petals

Decorative candles

Soft

bread

rolls

Death by

natural causes

Death by

drowning

Child’s

death

Spiritual guide:

Dogs were believed to

guide ancestral spirits

to their final resting

place into the afterlife.

Mictlán

The underworld of Aztec mythology.

It was thought to be divided into

nine regions, depending on how the

deceased died. The spirits would

travel from the alternate afterlives

and the mortal world. Within the

Mesoamerian region, it is believed a

dog guides the deceased across a

river of water into the afterlife.

Miclantecuhtl

(Pronounced pronounce

Mick-tlan-teh-cuh-tli)

The Aztec god of the dead

Aztec mythology influences

Death by

war or fire

Mictecacihuatl

(Pronounced Meek-teka-see-wahdl)

Goddess of death

Along with her husband, rules the

underworld. Her role is to guard

the bones and govern over the

festivals of the dead. Depicted as a

skeletal figure in a dress, she has

become one of the many

prominent symbols of the Day of

the Dead.

SOURCE dayofthedead.holiday/history; britannica.com and USA TODAY research

JANET LOEHRKE/USA TODAY

Colorful garlandsmade of paper and flowers are hung along streets and homes

SOURCE DAYOFTHEDEAD.HOLIDAY/HISTORY; BRITANNICA.COM AND USA TODAY RESEARCH

GRAPHICS BY JANET LOEHRKE/USA TODAY

Janet Loehrke USA TODAY

8A z THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, 2019 z USA TODAY NEWS

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