Watch Day of the Dead on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.
Based on what you learned in the video, in what ways do Halloween and Día de los Muertos seem similar? In what ways do they differ?
One similarity you may have already noticed is that both holidays include macabre artwork featuring skulls and skeletons. The skulls, known as calaveras, and the skeletons, known as calacas, are central to Day of the Dead decorations and were inspired by the artist José Guadalupe Posada. Sugar skulls (calaveras de azúcar) are one of the most common items for sale during Day of the Dead festivities.
| http://www.arteyfotografia.com.ar |
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| image courtesy of San Jose Library via flickr |
After comparing Halloween to Día de los Muertos, which holiday do you think has more cultural value? Explain your view in the comments below.
After reading this post I see the real culture and beliefs that Hispanic people have with regards to this holiday. I also realize that Americans are not the only one celebrating a holiday on October 31st. This blog taught me how different Halloween is from Dia de los Muertos from a cultural value perspective.
ReplyDeleteOne difference is how children observe the holidays. A child on Halloween in the U.S. would not be thinking about culture and the meaning of the holiday. He or she would dress up in a cool costume and collect candy from the neighbors. By contrast, on Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) it is all about celebrating the time when the spirits of loved ones return. A typical child celebrating the holiday would set up a table for the rest of his or her family and place on top items such as pictures of deceased family members, candles to lead the way down to heaven, water to replenish the souls after a long journey and banners and flowers to remind everyone of the festival.
This is just one example of how Dia de los Muertos has more cultural value than the holiday of Halloween.
Andy G.
Class 702
Watching this video made me realize the importance of Dia de los Muertos to the Hispanic People. Whereas, children in the United States are clueless of the meaning of Halloween and only think of dressing up and trick or treating on this special day. However, children in Mexico are celebrating it as a day dedicated to their deceased loved ones who have temporarily returned. Children would set up an altar with their family. They would then place pictures of lost ones on top and candles and delicious treats to lead them down. They would then put out water to hydrate the souls after their long and hard trek down to Earth. Flowers and Banners could also be placed on top to prompt and emphasize everyone on of this wonderful festival of the dead.
ReplyDeleteVera F.
Class 702
When I read this article and watched the video I was shocked. I never knew Halloween can be culturally diverse. I always thought it was a day of putting on costumes, scaring people, and trick or treating in America, but, obviously, I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteOne similarity is that both Americans and Mexicans parade through town on Halloween or Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), celebrating each holiday. The people in the U.S. have parties and sing halloween songs and the people in Mexico also have parties and sing songs for their dead. One difference is the Mexicans take this holiday more serious than Americans. Americans make or buy scary costumes and go out craving for candy. Mexicans take this time of day to welcome the spirits of the dead, specifically their loved ones, back down the earth. They prepare everything for the spirits from water to their favorite foods. It is quite fascinating how one country can be so silly about a holiday and another country can be very serious about that same holiday.
I find Dia de los Muertos a very interesting holiday. I would love to learn more about it.
Faith F.
703
After I read the article and watched the video, it made me realize how important Dia de los Muertos is. It is a day of remembering your deceased loved ones, whereas Halloween is a path for children to end up with candy for six months. Dia de los Muertos, I believe has more cultural value. Instead of going around asking for sweets, you pray for your loved ones and welcome them back into your home. It is actually very interesting how on the same day children are dressing up in silly costumes (they aren't fooling anyone) when the Mexican population is welcoming the dead back into their home. It seems impossible that some children are having a time stuffing their faces with candy and not giving a thought about the rest of the world, while other children are praying for the dead, and celebrating also, but in a melancholy way.
ReplyDeleteMax V-M.
704
After reading this blog I see that one thing that is similar between the two holidays is that they both have the same decorative theme with pumpkins and the death and skull decorations. They are different because Día de los Muertos is more of a spiritual holiday to remember lost relatives and friends while Halloween is more of a celebration or festival.
ReplyDeleteSome items I can identify on this altar are some flowers, food, and some photos. The significance of these are for the spirits of loved ones when they return from heaven. I think Día de los Muertos has more cultural value because Americans see Halloween as more of a silly holiday, while Día de los Muertos has lots of spiritual value to these people.
I think it is very cool to see the different holidays that different cultures celebrate. I would like to learn more about that.
Gillian B.
701
While reading this blog I found it interesting how two different holidays could be so similar.
ReplyDeleteHalloween and Day of the Death are similar, because both of these holidays are very decorative. Like Halloween, Day of the Death has pumpkins, skulls, and skeletons. This is just one example of how the two holidays are the same.
Halloween and Day of the Death are different, because Halloween is a fun holiday where you get to trick or treat and scare people, unlike Day of the Death. Day of the Death is a day where beloved ones who have passed have their souls come down from heaven and back to earth. Also you have to believe in this holiday, you have to believe that peoples soul comes back to earth. Where as Halloween does not require specific beliefs and people enjoy it mostly for fun. People take Day of the Death very seriously.
Overall, I like my the holiday that we celebrate better... Halloween.
Bria K.
702
While reading this blog I found it interesting how two different holidays could be so similar but not at all
ReplyDeleteHalloween and Day of the Death are similar, because both of these holidays are very decorative. Like Halloween, Day of the Death has pumpkins, skulls, and skeletons. This is just one example of how the two holidays are the same.
Halloween and Day of the Death are different, because Halloween is a fun holiday where you get to trick or treat and scare people, unlike Day of the Death. Day of the Death is a day where beloved ones who have passed have their souls come down from heaven and back to earth. Also you have to believe in this holiday, you have to believe that peoples soul comes back to earth. Where as Halloween does not require specific beliefs and people enjoy it mostly for fun. People take Day of the Death very seriously.
Overall, I like my the holiday that we celebrate better... Halloween.
Bria K.
702
The Day of the Dead and Halloween are alike as well as different. There are many similarities between the two holidays. In summary they are the decorations and the sweet foods. Despite their similarities, the holidays both have their differences. For example on the Day of the Dead, they celebrate family members who have passed away. This has much more of a personal effect on those in Hispanic cultures than if they were to celebrate Halloween. For instance, on the Day of the Dead they build alters. They leave water and food for the spirit after the journey. They also include photographs, candles, pieces of religious artwork for the prayers, and marigolds. This is much more elaborate than buying a costume and candy, like we do on Halloween.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I believe that The Day of the Dead has more of a cultural value/personal impact. This is due to the fact that it is celebrating the spirits of passed family members rather than celebrating candy and costumes. While the holidays may be separated by their value, culturally, they are both fun for the kids and are important in countless house holds.
I recall in elementary school making an alter on the Day of the Dead. While is was sad to look back on the deceased, there are fun parts to the holiday. Overall, I hope that we can learn more about this day so that it is as familiar to us as Halloween is.
Olivia G.
702
After reading this blog, it has helped me learn more about el dia de los muertos. Earlier this week I didn't even know anything about el dia de los muertos or that Mexico celebrates a holiday the same day as we celebrate Halloween. But now in just two days I've learned a lot. When I first heard the name "The Day of the Dead", I thought it was just the Mexican version of Halloween but now I know it is not.
ReplyDeleteSome differences between Halloween and dia de los muertos is that Halloween is more of just dressing up in fancy and clever costumes, having parades, and trick-or-treating. But in Mexico, it is more of celebrating their deceased loved ones and it's more spritual rather than fun (which it can be though). This is the main difference. Other differences are that Halloween has nothing to do with altars, bread, papel picado, and an illuminated path or the journey in the afterlife.
Although Halloween and el dia de los muertos have their differences, they are also somewhat similar. For example, they have this theme of the dead and include bright lights/candles, skulls, skepetons, and sweets.
I think that both holidays are very cool and I hope to learn more about el dia de los muertos. I will certainly think about this every year on Halloween!
~Kelly L.
701
(ADDED ON)I think that de dia de los muertos has a more cultural value because it's a traditional event and celebrates dead ancestors, with lots of decorations, feasts, and a superstitious atmosphere.
ReplyDelete~Kelly L.
701
It's really interesting to see how different Halloween and Dia de los Muertos are, especially because Dia de los Muertos is like a more meaningful version of Halloween. It has a much greater cultural value because it is about death of these that people know, not just about frightening creatures that do not connect to anyone individually. Also, Halloween has devolved into an opportunity to dress up and eat candy, whereas Dia de los Muertos has kept its cultural ties strong. Halloween used to be about scaring off spirits, and Dia de los Muertos is about welcoming them.
ReplyDeleteIn Dia de los Muertos, every family has its own private celebration of their loved ones as well as a full-town gathering. The public event is complete with parades and bands, and it is really all about fun and enjoyment, similar to the many Halloween parties in America. But the alters are what makes it so much stronger than Halloween. They show how much work and care are put into them, and make the event connect with the people individually. People take the time to buy and make dishes, collect photographs, and set up elaborate displays for their deceased loved ones. Just looking at any alter provokes joy. It's not about mourning their deaths; it's about celebrating their lives.
In Scotland, the people believed that on the last day of October (Halloween), the spirits of the dead would come back and if the spirits could recognise the people, they would haunt them. So everyone would have to dress up and behave as someone or something else so that the spirits would not recognise them.
ReplyDeleteFor Día de Los Muertos, the people do something similar. Families make sure that their dead family members can live on peacefuly and comfortably. There must be alot of superstition in the people who celebrate Día de Los Muertos so in someways, there must be the fear that the spirits will haunt them if the spirits are not treated well.
But in many ways, the two 'events' are different. Halloween is now celebrated and thought of as a fun night where children and adults alike get dressed up and collect candy. Día de Los Muertos on the other hand is a cultural and religious celebration that emphasizes the importance of the family and ancestors.
I personally believe that Día de Los Muertos is more culturally important. This is because the celebrations are about respect, love, thanks and family. These are all very important values and show alot about a culture.
˜Allegra B.
804
Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos are similar and different in many ways. One way they are similar is that they are both extremely festive. There are decorations and celebrations and it is celebrated nationally. They are both exciting holidays. They also both have traditions behind them. On halloween, kids go door to door to collect candy while dressed up in costumes. On Dia de Los Muertos, altars are set up and there are special feasts. They are also very different holidays.
ReplyDeleteHalloween, although it has all these things in common with Dia de Los Muertos, it has no cultural value behind it. It is celebrated by mostly children for fun. There is a spooky theme to it, such as ghosts. There are no religious purposes behind it. On the other hand, Dia de Los Muertos is celebrating people's deceased loved ones, and their spirits that come to visit every year. On the altars that families set up are candles to help the spirits find their way home, water for them to drink after their long journey, photographs of the deceased to honor them, and their favorite foods to eat. There is true meaning behind these celebrations. People value Dia de Los Muertos in a very different way than people in America value
Halloween.
-Mikaela K.
801
I think that Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos have similarties but culturally Dia de Los Muertos more significant, not just dressing up and having fun, it is about remembering and respecting your dead family members and it is a kind of religious celebration.
ReplyDeleteAtilla S.- 701
In elementary school The Day of The Dead was presented to be exactly the same as Halloween, just called a different name. After learning more about this in 7th grade I can see there are many differences, Day of The Dead is more of day to celebrate the lives of dead loved ones, by putting out food they used to like on alters along with their favorite things when they were alive. Families and friends do this for their loved ones believing the veil between the dead and the living is the weakest on this day, they spend time at their graves and pay their respects; putting down flowers and cleaning up their graves.
ReplyDeleteIn the American culture Halloween is more like a day for fun, to dress up as your favorite movie stars, or characters from a book you like and go out trick or treating with friends, There is no real spiritual tie to this day in America unlike in Spanish countries.
Both holidays have an overall theme of death, but Day of The Dead is more spiritual, while Halloween is more fun and games.
- Catherine Kreider
802