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Days of the Dead
In Mexico, Halloween ushers in The Day of the Dead, (El Día de los Muertos), a Mexican and Mexican-American celebration of dead ancestors, which lasts from the evening of October 31, through November 1 and November 2, the Roman Catholic All Saints Day and All Souls Day. This event is not only celebrated in Mexico; it is celebrated in other parts of Latin America, though not to the extent as it is in Mexico. On El Día de los Muertos, the celebrants wear wooden skull masks called calacas and dance in honor of their deceased relatives. The wooden skulls are also placed on altars that are dedicated to the dead. The altars are decorated with ofrendas, or offerings, which may include photographs, bread, other foods, flowers, toys and other symbolic offerings. Special food for El Día de los Muertos includes Pan de Muertos, or bread of the dead, a sweet egg bread, made in many shapes, from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits. Sugar skulls, made with the names of the dead person on the forehead, are eaten by a relative or friend. People visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and they decorate grave sites with marigold flowers and candles. They bring toys for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels) and bottles of tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole for adults. The celebrants sit on picnic blankets next to the graves and eat the favorite food of their loved ones. Despite its morbidness, this holiday is celebrated joyfully. Everything about this holiday is happy, even the skeletons and devils
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia and from http://www.white-on.com
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