Day of the Dead artwork is not meant to be scary. Just the opposite - this
artwork is meant to celebrate the spirit and honor the memory of
those who have passed. Day of the Dead is known as "Dia de los Muertos"
in Spanish. It is a Latin American holiday falling on November 1 and 2 of every
year. On these two special days, Latin American families and friends gather to
celebrate, honor, remember and pray for their departed loved ones. November 1
honors departed children and November 2 honors adults.
Day
of the Dead art is alive with smiling skulls in kaleidoscope colors, full
of decorative and detailed designs. It is a vibrant art of colors and chaos.
Look at the skull art on this page. What do you see: evil skull drawings or
benevolent beings? Sweet or sinister smiles? The answer may depend on how you
interpret death.
To celebrate the deceased is to accept that death is an
inevitable part of life. Life and death are two sides of the same coin - life
cannot exist without death, and vice versa. Plans for
the day are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods to be
offered to the dead. During the three-day period families usually clean and
decorate graves;[2] most
visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their
graves with ofrendas (offerings), which often include orange Mexican
marigolds. These flowers are thought to attract souls of the dead to the
offerings. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies
on the grave. The intent is to encourage visits by the souls, so the souls will
hear the prayers and the comments of the living directed to them. Celebrations
can take a humorous tone, as celebrants remember funny events and anecdotes
about the departed.
Some families build altars or small shrines in their homes. These altars are decorated using sugar
skulls, marigolds, candles, Christian crosses, images or statues of the Virgin
Mary, and photos of the departed, as well as their favorite foods and
beverages.
Skulls (known as calaveras) are ubiquitous in Day of the Dead celebrations. They are the ultimate symbol of
mortality. Underneath our fleshy exterior, our very earthly existence depends
upon this skeletal foundation. Therefore Day of the Dead art revolves around
imagery of skulls and skeletons in many states and forms: dancing, cooking,
smiling, and playing banjo, for example. The belief is that our personalities
and identities carry on into the afterlife. So when a person buys an image or
statue of a skeleton baking bread and places it on an altar in honor of their
aunt who was a baker, the image is said to help the dead soul find her way back
to the altar where she can commune with her relatives. This is why there are
numerous depictions of skeletons engaged in various specific activities. Skulls will be made from foods such as
chocolate or sugar and decorated with bright colors. Sugar skulls as gifts can
be given to both the living and the dead. Day of the Dead artwork is often colorful and lively, sometimes
whimsically macabre. Day of the Dead art is ironically full of life. To those
of us who did not grow up in Latin American culture, Day of the Dead art
rejuvenates our common Western perception of death by presenting a view of the
afterlife that is full of energy and spirit, worthy of joy and celebration. It
brings with it the hope that after death, there will still be another tomorrow.ANSWER THE FOLLOWING IN A WORD DOC:
1. List 3 things you
learned that you did not know about Day of the Dead before:
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2. How would you summarize this holiday?
3. How do you feel about celebrating death this way?
4. List all the symbols (or items) you can find in the text
which are associated with this holiday:
5. How does the Day of the Dead compare and contrast to the
American holiday of Halloween?
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