Day of the Dead

The day of Dead is a celebration in many Hispanic countries; Mexico is one of the countries that celebrate most this specific day. For them is a day in which the living remember their departed relatives. Is a beautiful ritual in which Mexican happily and lovingly remember their loved relatives that have died.
This Celebration takes place on November 1st and 2nd and there are two very special places where this ritual is impressive: Mixquic (a small town in Mexico City, and Janitzio, a charming little island in the state of Michoacan).
By the end of October Mexican families start preparing for the celebration, they decorate with cempasuchil (an orange marigold flower) many Mexican families growth their own cempasuchil, believing that doing so is more appropriate for their offerings. Other tradition is what they call Pan de Muerto (Day of the Dead bread) they used this bread as an offering to the dead relatives that they leave at their tombs in the graveyard. They also prepared the favorites dishes of their relative that they decorated with cempasuchil flowers and they also leave these dishes at their relative’s tombs.
On November 1st the ceremony in honor of the Angelitos take place in the cemetery; is a ceremony for the little children that died and that could never experience the happiness and sorrow of adulthood. The way that they celebrate is that very early in the morning the church start ringing the bells calling for the children’s souls and their relatives. They start with an early mass then the women’s and children’s go to the graveyard to clean and decorated the tombs with flowers, bread and fruit as well as the copal (incense) that will guide the souls back.
The Angelitos ceremony ends around 9am giving place to the start of the adult soul’s celebration that will take place at nightfall.
At night the dance begins with the Danza de los Viejitos (Dance of the old Men) during the entire night the relatives ad souls will dance eat and celebrate while the bells from the church rings all night long. The women’s and children’s place the flowers, food and candles on their relatives tombs. They pray and sing all together the entire night celebrating the rest of the souls and for the happiness of the living.
I’m coming from a Hispanic country where the Day of the Dead is celebrated in a completely different way, in Argentina the Day of the Dead is a day to go to mass and pray. We do not celebrate sing or dance. In the way that we honor our dead relatives is with prayers and in silence, some people cry the entire day is a really sad day. I was surprise when I read about this celebration for the Mexican people I think that is a great way to remember the souls of family members lost and the beauty of been alive.