HALLOWEEN VS DIA DE MUERTOS

Halloween 

origin of halloween

Halloween is a festival of pagan origin that takes place on the night of October 31, the eve of All Saints' Day, and that has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced "sow-in"), which means " end of summer "and was held at the end of the harvest season in Ireland to start the" Celtic New Year ", coinciding with the autumn solstice.

During that night it was believed that the spirits of the deceased walked among the living, and held sacred feasts and rites that included communication with the dead. In addition, it was customary to place a lit candle in the windows so that the dead would "find their way".

"Trick or treat"

As a tradition on the night of North American Halloween, it is customary to mention this famous phrase, when children visit the houses of their neighbors, to achieve the famous candy that would make up the "Deal", and if they do not give them then they must have prepared a Mischief or "Trick", for not  deal.

The custom goes back to the Middle Ages, when the Celtic ceremony of this date was deeply rooted, where it was believed that the spirits rose from their breaks, in particular that night and went to the houses of their relatives to settle accounts, these to avoid consequences, they put in their windows, offerings like food or beer, to conform them and avoid their curses or revenge.

How is Halloween celebrated in Mexico?

The typical "sweet or trick" has been replaced by "fifth for my skull" and children carry, instead of candy, piggy banks, which are depositing donations. What in Mexico does not change are the typical costumes of this date and, as in other countries of the world, are usually those of witches, skeletons or vampires.

Children's costumes

Along with the "trick or treat", another Halloween custom that is given is that children (and occasionally adults) are diffracted and although they currently carry all kinds of costumes or costumes, the real tradition or custom is the disguise of something that of fear and in fact of things like the witches, the skeletons or the ghosts.

The fact of disguising oneself as something that is not scary is not only because of Halloween itself, but because it is to recreate that we are mocking spirits that make deals in exchange for not disturbing, or as when Protestants and Catholics, were different for one night through costumes

The children disguised in Halloween also mention the most direct origin of the party. The Celts put on masks to prevent ghosts from entering their homes on the night of October 31, as they believed that the dead came alive and became ghosts, mummies, witches, etc. People also thought that they would be found on the streets if they left their homes.

The illuminated pumpkin

The origin of the tradition is born in Ireland. Many, many years ago, a stingy and irksome Irishman, called Jack, had the misfortune to meet the very devil in a tavern. It was Halloween or Halloween Night.

Jack, who was a drunkard, deceived the devil himself, giving his soul in exchange for one last drink. The devil accepted the deal and transformed himself into a coin to pay the innkeeper Jack's drink. Jack picked up the coin at full speed and put it in his purse.

Jack had a crucifix inside his purse, so the devil could not return to his original form. Jack had the same demon kidnapped, so he came to another agreement with him. He would not let the devil go until he promised not to ask for his soul within 10 years. The devil had no choice but to accept Jack's blackmail.

Ten years after that night, Jack was reunited with the devil in the field. The devil was going to take Jack's soul, but Jack thought how to get out of that situation and said: "I'll go with you as we agreed, but before doing so, would you bring me the apple that is in that tree?"

The devil thought he had nothing to lose by taking the apple and giving it to him, winning the soul of a sinner. With a jump he reached the top of the tree to catch the fruit. But before the devil realized it, Jack had already carved a cross on the trunk of the tree, again leaving the devil trapped and unable to move. Then the devil could not come down.

  Jack forced the devil to promise that he would never ask for his soul. The devil had no choice but to accept and erase the cross. Escaping the devil who could not take his soul.

Halloween and the bonfires

In the United States, bonfires are lit to celebrate Halloween. The origin of this tradition goes back to the druids when every night of October 31 they lit a big bonfire in celebration of the new year (for them the new year, the new life, the increase of their powers was the night of Samhain). In this bonfire they burned animals and human beings as a sacrifice to their Sun God and to Samhain, their divinity of death.

It was actually a diabolical ceremony in which people used disguises made from the heads and skins of animals. Then they practiced divination, jumped on the flames or ran through them, danced and sang. All this was done to drive away evil spirits.

day of the Dead

origin of the day of the dead

The cult of death and the day of the dead have been present in many towns throughout history. In Mexico it is an ancestral legacy that can be seen in the different pre-Hispanic cultures that inhabited the territory, and it is a celebration that continues to this day.

The origins of the Day of the Dead tradition predate the arrival of the Spaniards, who had a unitary conception of the soul, a conception that prevented them from understanding the fact that the natives attributed to each individual several psychic entities and that each one of them had die a different destiny.

After the conquest, the union of the indigenous beliefs with the Spanish Catholicism forged a unique, colorful religious character that conserved in certain form the ancestral memories of the old pre-Columbian traditions.

the offering

The Day of the Dead offering includes a sacred practice in which gifts are represented through bread, salt, fruit, water, wine and the deceased's favorite food. They can be enriched according to the tradition of the region, community or family and include other elements that personalize the event. The offering is, then, the reencounter with a ritual that summons the memory to dialogue with the memory of the dead.

From another point, the offering is the fusion of the old and the new world that allowed the cultural integration of European customs (flowers, candles) and indigenous traditions (copal, cempasúchil flower and natural elements).

Among the essential elements that an offering must contain are:

Water. Fountain of life. After the journey that the souls have traveled, the liquid is offered to mitigate their thirst and strengthen their return.

The salt. As a purifying element helps the body is not corrupted and kept in conditions for your return trip and your next coming.

Candles / candles The candles symbolize the light that guides the souls in their visit and back to their abode. The flame symbolizes light, faith and hope; in ancient Mexico ocot rinds were used, which were exchanged for candles or candles. In the indigenous tradition each candle represents a deceased, and its color will depend on the condition of the family: the purple candles are a sign of mourning.

Copal and incense. The copal is for the natives what the incense is for the Spaniards. With the fragrance that they give off, it is believed, the place of the offering of evil spirits is cleansed so that the soul can enter without any risk.

Flowers. The representative flower of the festival is that of cempasúchil. In the past it was believed that this flower had healing properties, however now it is only used to decorate and aromatize, sometimes it is defoliated to make paths of petals that guide the deceased from the cemetery to the offering, and back.

The mat. It is placed either for the souls to rest or on the table to place the elements of the offering.

Bread. One of the indispensable elements of the altar is bread, a symbol of fraternity recognized as "the body of Christ".

A picture. It is believed that the image must remain hidden so that it can only be seen with a mirror, a way of explaining that the deceased is but no longer exists.

The mole, the sugar skulls, the liquor, a cross of ash and chopped paper are placed so that with their aromas, colors and memories the table and scenery is completed in each home.

ASK FOR CALAVERITA

The tradition of "asking for calaverita" has undergone syncretic transformations. At first, this practice referred to the route that children made house to house with a skull in hand asking for sweets to feed it. Nowadays, external influences have modified the tradition and children visit the houses dressed in the "Halloween" style, but the chants continue to be transmitters of the cultural expression of the Day of the Dead.

"La Calavera is hungry

there is not a little bone out there

do not eat it all

leave us half.

The skull wants to have dinner

Five of sweet,

Five of salt.

customes

For the Day of the Dead it is a tradition to dress as Catrina, witches, skeletons and skulls. This represents and mocks death.

The key to knowing how to dress is also in the makeup. You should paint your face white and make two black circles around your eyes, simulating a skull.

As for the clothes, you can choose the one you want according to the character you will be. But since it is a Mexican tradition, it is worthwhile to wear typical costumes of the country.

visit to the pantheon

There is also the tradition of going to visit the deceased relatives and leave flowers, clean your grave or just live with them on those dates.

Sometimes people carry mariachis, ornaments for the grave or the occasional offering to the deceased