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Article: El Dia de los Muertos.(the Day of the Dead)
- Article from:
- Faces: People, Places, and Cultures
- Article date:
- November 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Many believe that on El Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), the souls of family members who have died return to share a feast with their living relatives. Families celebrate this special time in various ways. The celebration also varies in different cities and towns in southwestern U.S. states, in Mexico, and in other parts of the Americas.
This centuries-old holiday is a mixture of ancient Aztec and Catholic customs. The Aztecs did not fear death. They believed that the way a person died determined the kind of afterlife he or she would have and where his or her soul would go. They thought, for example, that warriors and children became hummingbirds and ...