Día de los Muertos in Mexico

     I am starting this blog on a special moment - All Saints' Day. This holiday has always fascinated me in its own way, especially the way it is celebrated in different parts of the world. I have an impression that Latin America is still not fully explored place, and that Mexico is a very interesting country, I have decided to write about their way of spending this holiday. The assumptions of the holiday both in Poland and Mexico are similar and the holiday occurs at the same time, but the difference is fundamental: the Polish holiday is contemplative, while the Día de los Muertos is a festival of colors, music, dances and turpistic elements. It is believed that this is when the dead can return to their loved ones, not to frighten them or visit them, but to spend some time with them and enjoy their company. The souls of the dead should be joyfully greeted and shown the way home.

fot.: www.shutterstock.com

    In Mexican culture, the theme of death appears constantly. It was accepted as an integral part of life, trying to tame it. Some worship it - in many houses, statues of Santa Muerte (Holy Death) stand right next to the representations of the Virgin Mary.

    The treatment of tombstones is also fascinating. They are decorated with yellow flowers and altars with the favorite items of the deceased - souvenirs, food, alcohol, and if the deceased was, for example, a musician, he is left with a bouquet of flowers arranged in the shape of a guitar. Skeletons dressed in a traditional stand, sugar skulls and the bread of the dead, i.e. a mound-shaped challah covered with sugar balls, are placed on colorful tablecloths. Special thing is that Mexican families share their meal in the cemetery itself, feasting at the tombstones. This is how they show concern for the dead who returned that day to meet and celebrate together.

fot.: www.shutterstock.com

    Another unusual phenomenon is the numerous stalls surrounding the cemetery where you can eat, drink and buy all kinds of grotesque. They are a manifestation of elaborative Mexican art, devoted to superstition and often exceeding the limits of good taste - everything is allowed here. Artistic craftsmanship based on the theme of death has a long tradition in Mexico, we can cite the works of the painter Jose Guadalupe Posada, who at the end of the 19th century caricatured famous personalities in posthumous poses. One of the most important symbols of the celebration of the Day of the Dead in Mexico is Pan de Muerto. Sweet yeast bread, most often with two intersecting rolls of dough (which are supposed to resemble crossed bones), can be found in Mexican shops, bakeries and bazaars a few weeks before November 1st.

    I have always thought that this way of celebrating is worth getting to know, because it is very different from Polish culture and can deepen our knowledge about the world and people of other nationalities.

It only remains for me to wish - Feliz día de los Muertos!

fot.: www.shutterstock.com