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Why is the 'Día de los Muertos' celebrated?

The tradition, which is celebrated during the early hours of this Wednesday into Thursday, has its origins in Mexico as a way to honor the deceased.

Altar dedicado al

Altar del Día de los Muertos

Published by
Rosana Rábago Sainz

This dawn, the "Día de los Muertos" (translated as "Day of the Dead") is celebrated. The tradition, which usually takes place on the night of November 1-2, originates in Mexico as a way for family and friends to honor and reunite with their deceased. A date that, contrary to what you might think, becomes a day full of joy, color, music and food.

Perhaps that is the reason why the Mexican tradition, little by little, is crossing the border and more and more Americans are celebrating "Día de los Muertos." An example of this is the emblematic Hollywood Forever cemetery, in Los Angeles, which tonight organizes the 24th anniversary of the celebration of this holiday. This year, the theme chosen to celebrate this tradition is "Masks of Mexico. Life and Death in the Mask." A tradition that one of its founders, Deisy Márquez, explained in statements collected by NBC :

It’s a celebration about honoring and keeping alive the memory of your loved ones and believing that one day you’ll be together. (It is believed) on that one day, even though you’re alive, that realm opens up and you’re together on the "Day of the Dead." The celebration, and the event itself, it’s very deep and meaningful for a lot of people and everybody has a different idea (of how to celebrate).

'Día de los Muertos,' a multi-day celebration

The "Día de los Muertos" is a holiday that, contrary to what it may seem, not only lasts one day but several. In some places the festival begins on Halloween night, October 31, and ends on November 2, the date on which All Souls' Day is celebrated in several places in Latin America. In this way, the early morning of October 31 to November 1, the festival focuses exclusively on honoring deceased children while the early morning of November 1 to 2, deceased adults are honored.

Although the date on which it is celebrated may vary, there is one thing that everyone agrees on, a single tradition: building altars that honor the spirits of the deceased. These places are usually formed by offerings in the form of the favorite food of the dead as well as the belongings and photographs of the dead. It also usually includes sugar skulls that represent death and rebirth and Cempasuchil flower or calendula, a flower that grows throughout Mexico during the fall and whose strong smell, reported by the History Channel, and according to Mexican folklore, attracts spirits and invites them to celebrate this "Día de los Muertos."

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