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发帖数: 1 | 1 The Day of the Dead (Spanish: Día de Muertos) is a Mexican holiday
celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions,
and by people of Mexican ancestry living in other places, especially the
United States. It is acknowledged internationally in many other cultures.
The multi-day holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray
for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support
their spiritual journey. In 2008, the tradition was inscribed in the
Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by
UNESCO.[1]
The holiday is sometimes called Día de los Muertos[2][3] in Anglophone
countries, a back-translation of its original name, Día de Muertos. It is
particularly celebrated in Mexico where the day is a public holiday. Prior
to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at
the beginning of summer. Gradually, it was associated with October 31,
November 1, and November 2 to coincide with the Western Christianity triduum
of Allhallowtide: All Saints' Eve, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day.[4][
5] Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars
called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using calaveras, aztec marigolds, and
the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with
these as gifts.[6] Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the
graves.
Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous
observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated
to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world,
being absorbed into other deep traditions in honor of the dead. It has
become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational purposes) in
the nation's schools. Many families celebrate a traditional "All Saints'
Day" associated with the Catholic Church.
Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern
Mexico, where it was unknown until the 20th century because its indigenous
people had different traditions. The people and the church rejected it as a
day related to syncretizing pagan elements with Catholic Christianity. They
held the traditional 'All Saints' Day' in the same way as other Christians
in the world. There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and
relatively few indigenous inhabitants from the regions of Southern Mexico,
where the holiday was celebrated. In the early 21st century in northern
Mexico, Día de Muertos is observed because the Mexican government made it a
national holiday based on educational policies from the 1960s; it has
introduced this holiday as a unifying national tradition based on indigenous
traditions.[7][8][9]
The Mexican Day of the Dead celebration is similar to other societies'
observances of a time to honor the dead. The Spanish tradition, for instance
, includes festivals and parades, as well as gatherings of families at
cemeteries to pray for their deceased loved ones at the end of the day.[10] |
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