Día de

Muertos

(Day of the

Dead)

By: Christine ChiangSpanish Senora Moen27 de Septiembre 2010

Día de Muertos

Día de Muertos es una fiesta muy importante y famoso. En

México la gente celebra este festival el primero y el dos de

noviembre. Los Mexicanos piensan que el Día de Muertos es

muy importante porque ellos creen que los humanos pueden

charlar con la gente muerta este día. El pan de los muertos y

calaveras de azúcar son las comidas mas comunes que se

vende durante el Día de Muertos.

Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead, known as Día de los Muertos is a festival that

Mexicans have to celebrate and welcome back their family members

that has passed away. The Day of the Dead is different from

Halloween although there are a few similarities. Mexicans believe

the Day of the Dead is the only time that communication can

happen between the living and the dead. This is a two-day

celebration that happens on November 1st and 2nd of every year.

People have been practicing this festival for at least 3,000 years. For

the Mexicans the Day of the Dead is not a sad and scary day,

instead it is a happy, and funny day, for which they prepare things

in special ways for the dead relatives such as, special yummy food,

decoration with flowers, and dress up with scary types of customs.

The food that people prepare for the

Day of Dead is very different from

the food they normally eat. Sweets is

the taste they focus more on making

the special food to celebrate for

example, sugar skulls, and

chocolates. Sugar skulls are a very

traditional food in Mexico; it is

almost impassible to buy it in other

countries. The sugar skull is mainly

made from different colours of sugar in a shape of skull, and

skeleton. There are many colourful patterns of decorations on the

sugar skull. There are also many sugar skulls made to look like it’s

doing an activity, such as skeletons going to school, getting a

haircut, or getting married. Families cook and make their special

foods like tamales and chicken mole with chocolate galore for

decorations, which make their homes fill with chocolate smells.

Furthermore the bread of the dead, know as, pan de los muertos is

also a very important part in the foods for the day of the death.

Children will buy a lot of the bread of the dead and the sugar skulls

and give it to each other as little gifts.

Sugar skulls decorated with colourful patterns.

During the Day of the Dead

family members get together

to clean and decorate their

relatives’ graves, buy toys for

children, and tell jokes. People

will light up candles and put it

around the grave to help to guide the spirit of

the dead family to find their way back to

celebrate with them. They also use a lot of real

flowers for decoration around the grave. People bring fresh fruits

with them to the grave to give their dead family members and but it

in front of the grave, as well as some food that dead relatives loved

to eat while he/she was alive. Mexican makes up a lot of skeleton, or

dead related jokes to tell others on this day.

The Day of the Dead is a happy day for Mexicans, because this is

the day that they can remember their dead family members and

celebrate with them. There are a lot of yummy food made for this

day, and beautiful decorations on the graves.

Work cited

Harris, Zoe, and Suzanne Williams. "El Dia de los Muertos." Piñatas & Smiling Skeletons Celebrating Mexican Festivals. Berkeley: Pacific View Press, 1998. 41~45. Print.

This is a photo showing how the Mexicans decorate the grave using flowers and candles, also, there are fruits that are brought for the dead person.

"Day of the Dead History." Arizona Local News - Phoenix Arizona News - Breaking News - Azcentral.com. Web. 20 Sept. 2010. <http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-history.html>.

Budd, Jimm. "Mexico Celebrates Life | Day of the Dead in Mexico." Mexico Celebrates Life | Day of the Dead in Mexico. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. <http://www.dayofthedead.com/>.

Goshon, Sherry. "Day of the Dead ." ClothDollPatterns.com Main Pattern Page . N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. <http://www.clothdollpatterns.com/patterns2/id84.htm>.

"Country Name: Mexico." Period 5 Group 2. Jack, Michael, and Bennett, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. <https://worldgeopost07.wikispaces.com/Period+5+Group+2>.

"The Day of the Dead." Latin American Studies. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. <http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/dead.htm>.