The celebrations of Day of death and of Halloween They have become popular around the world, and although they are different, both dates are often confused.
The Day of death It has been celebrated since the times of the Aztecs, Maya and Toltecs, but the celebration took place between July and August and lasted a whole month. With the arrival of the Spaniards, colonization and the imposition of Christianity, the date was moved to the beginning of November to coincide with the homage to All Saints, in which the Spaniards remembered their dead. For this it is celebrated November 2.
Instead, Halloween it was based on the roots of the ancient pre-Christian Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated October 31st. These individuals, who were 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the UK and northern France, thought the dead had returned to land in Samhain.
These are the differences that will serve to celebrate each one.
Customs
In the Day of death the altars are placed in order to remember the deceased loved ones and can not miss the cempasuchil flowers, the key piece of this tribute, since, due to its peculiar color and smell, it is said to help the person’s soul find its place. Even the candles there are others who serve for offerings and serve to guide the path of the dead. Another custom is to offer food and drink to the spirits, because they want them to have the perfect dinner on the evening of their return. As for the decoration, the chopped paper cannot be missing, under a warm and colorful atmosphere, full of joy.
In Halloween, There remains the belief that spirits return to the world in order to scare the living. After this, people decorate their homes and dress up in scary costumes, to chase them away. In this celebration, the most used colors are purple, black and orange. Their main custom is to go out on the street to ask for sweets: children dress up in a scary way, knock on neighbors’ doors and quote the classic phrase “Trick or treat”.
Foods
On November 2 it is customary to eat sugar or chocolate skulls and the dead bread. In the case of skulls, they should be given to loved ones with their name on the forehead or placed in the offering with the name of the dead person.
On October 31 it is customary to create pumpkin dishesin addition to the foods that are obtained during the autumn season, such as pumpkin pies, biscuits with allusive figures and caramelized apples.
symbols
In the Halloween night, are the traditional decorations pumpkins, known as Jack-O’-Lantern. Its origin is due to an old Irish folk tale that tells of Jack, a farmer who, with his intelligence, managed to capture the devil, but when he died he could not enter either heaven or hell and, consequently, he was condemned to live in the flames inside a pumpkin.
In the Mexican country, the main figure is La Catrina, a skull but with colorful clothes and makeup. It was designed by José Guadalupe Posada and named by Diego Rivera. It represented that part of the population who pretended to be European and complained about their race and culture.
Source: Clarin
