The Holiday: (Day of The Dead)

The Holiday
(Day of the Dead)

 More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish Conquistadors landed in what
is now Mexico, they saw native Indians practicing a ritual that seemed to mock
death.
 Originally ancient Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations

kept skulls as trophies and displayed them during the ritual. The skulls
were used to symbolize death and rebirth.
 The skulls were used to honor the dead, whom the

Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations believed
came back to visit during the month long ritual.
 A ritual known today as Dia de los Muertos,
or Day of the Dead, had been practiced by
the local people at least 3,000 years.
 The Spaniards tried to

stamp out the ritual but
were unsuccessful.
 It is still celebrated
in Mexico and
certain parts of the
USA.
 To make the ritual more
Christian, the Spaniards moved
it so it fell on the same days as
All Saints' Day and All Souls'
Day (Nov. 1 and 2), which is
when it is celebrated today.
 The celebration starts on

October 31st and ends on
November 2nd.
October 31st
Remembering children
and infants who have
passed away.
Families create an
“Oferenda” (or alter) that
will contain food that the
person liked to eat.
The family will make sugar
skulls for their spirits.
Families lay flower petals
from the cemetery to
their homes so the little
November 1st
Pan De Muertos and Sugar Skulls are

traditional food made during this
celebration.
Cemeteries are elaborately
decorated with flowers candles and
Papel Picados.
People stay up all night in the

cemeteries, sharing stories,
dancing, and having a good
time.
Pan de Mertos Sugar Skulls Papel Picados
November 2nd
The Final
Day of the
celebration!
People dress
up.
People create
parades where
they dance to
send spirits Carmical, Elizabeth, The Skeleton At The Feast: The Day of the Dead in
Mexico, University of Texas Press, Austin 1991.
back.
Jose Posada
 Engraver
 Inventor of the “calaveras” icon

How is this
holiday
compared to
what we know
about
Halloween?
Let us begin by
finding out how
Halloween first came
to be...
3000
3000 years
years ago...
ago... On October 31st
This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the
dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death.
Celts believed that on the night before the New Year, the boundary between
the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
That night they would celebrate Samhain, which was said to be the time the
spirits roamed the earth.
Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for
the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. To
commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the
people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of

animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When
the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had
extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect
them during the coming winter.
Celtic people of Ireland celebrated their

new year on Nov. 1st
By
By the
the 800’s
800’s
The Christian influence had spread into
the Celtic lands.
In the seventh century, Pope Boniface
IV designated November 1 All Saints'
Day, a time to honor saints and
martyrs.
October 31st was called “all hallows eve”.
This was the pre-celebration for All Saints
Day as the Christian church’s way to get rid
of Samhain all together.
All Saints day would be a time for a
large feast devoted to the saints in the
Christian faith.
In
In 1000
1000 a.d...
a.d...
 Even later, in A.D. 1000, the
church would make
November 2 All Souls' Day,
a day to honor the dead.
 During the festivities, poor
citizens would beg for food
and families would give
them pastries called "soul
cakes" in return for their
promise to pray for the
family's dead relatives.
Trick or Treating?
 The practice, which was referred to as "going

a-souling" was eventually taken up by
children who would visit the houses in their
neighborhood and be given drinks, food, and
money.
Modern Traditions:
 European Immigrants
 European cultures and Native Americans
 “Play Parties”, ghost telling and mischief
 1846 Irish and American traditions
 1920’s and 30’s explosion of Halloween
traditions
What are some modern day practices for
Halloween?
What are the differences between Dia De Los
Muertos and Halloween today?
What are the differences between Dia De Los
Muertos and Halloween in the past?
What are the similarities between Dia De
Los Muertos and Halloween today?
What are the similarities between Dia De Los
Muertos and Halloween past?
8 grade work
th
7 grade work
th
6th grade work – IN THE STYLE OF
David Cation

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The Holiday

(Day of the Dead)

 Originally ancient Aztecs and other Meso-American civilizations

 The skulls were used to honor the dead, whom the

 The Spaniards tried to

 The celebration starts on

Pan De Muertos and Sugar Skulls are

People stay up all night in the

 Inventor of the “calaveras” icon

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of

Celtic people of Ireland celebrated their

 The practice, which was referred to as "going

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