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Day of the Dead

By Madison Ingman
Have you ever walked past a cemetery a day after memorial day in America and observed
the spectacular amount of flowers that have been left behind on almost all of the graves?
Memorial Day has always been such an important holiday in American culture, as we set a day
aside annually to remember those who have passed on and to pay our respects. Most cultures
have different holidays or traditions that are associated with honoring those who have died. One
of the cultures, known for their national holiday celebrating the dead, is Mexico. Their holiday is
called El Dia de los Muertos. If you were to walk past a cemetery on November 2nd in Mexico,
you would see a much more festive atmosphere than you would see on Memorial Day in
America. Instead of the more peaceful traditions, there are multiple loud celebrations and feasts
being held throughout the cemeteries.
A common tradition on El Dia de los Muertos are the preparation of ofrendas which are
favorite food and items of the deceased. These foods and objects are placed on altars in homes
and on graves accompanied by things such as crosses, flowers, candles and images of the Virgin
Mary. In the pre-Christian traditions it was thought that the ofrendas along with flowers and
incense would invite the deceased to return to the land of the living. The scents of the flowers
and incense were to satisfy those who had passed on while the living enjoyed the physical food
and pleasant aroma.
Along with being of cultural importance to Mexico El Dia de los Muertos has been an
economical boost for the country. With the details of this holiday being spread to other areas
around the world it has brought in a tremendous amount of tourism that the shops and businesses
have taken advantage of. As the festivities begin in late October there are animated skeleton,

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skull and coffin themed products lining the streets in preparation for the large amount of tourists
looking to experience the authentic tradition of the day of the dead. In some areas tourists must
pay in order to see the cemetery occurrences. Since there has been such an influx of visitors
attempting to see the tradition in person, mourners have insisted that people pay to take
photographs and observe their festivities.
Another important tradition of the holiday in Mexico is the bell ringing and begging. On
the days of November 1-2 the church bells would be rung just as it would be if a member of the
community passed on. The bells would be rung by religious brotherhoods or by other male
youth. These days were also in remembrance of offering up charity to those less fortunate. As a
result, needy and homeless members of the community would offer up their prayers at gravesites
in honor of the dead in exchange for food from the mourners. In some places such as the state of
Michoacn, the youth who were in charge of the ringing of the bells were allowed to ask for food
as well. This tradition has evolved and now children go from gravestone to gravestone saying
Mi Halloween which is asking for a donation of a small coin or candy.
El Dia de los Muertos is a holiday that is not generalized only in the country of Mexico.
The festivities can be found being celebrated in multiple countries all over the world, even
America. Many Mexican American citizens are using this holiday to express part of their cultural
identity. Schools around the United States have included El Dia de los Muertos in addition to
their Halloween lessons. In some places, especially next to the Mexican border, you can still find
family members visiting the cemetery with food and flowers on the first days of November. We
find as time goes on, a large amount of Mexican culture is being introduced into America. The
Day of the Dead is no exception, we can see that it is a holiday that is transnational and is
sharing the Mexican culture all around the world.

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Referemces
Brandes, Stanley. 1998 Day of the Dead. Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society & Culture.
Ed. Micheal S. Werner. London: Routledge, 1998. Credo Reference. Wed. 20 July 2016

De Lourdes Ruiz Scaperlanda, Maria. Day of the Dead. Saint Anthony Messenger 121.6
(2013): 16. MasterFILE Complete. Web 19 July 2016