As such, they’re loaded with offerings-water to quench thirst after the long journey, food, family photos, and a candle for each dead relative. These aren’t altars for worshipping rather, they’re meant to welcome spirits back to the realm of the living. The centerpiece of the celebration is an altar, or ofrenda, built in private homes and cemeteries. Today Mexicans from all religious and ethnic backgrounds celebrate Día de los Muertos, but at its core, the holiday is a reaffirmation of Indigenous life. In 2008, UNESCO recognized the importance of Día de los Muertos by adding the holiday to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) says that cultural heritage also includes living expressions of culture-traditions-passed down from generation to generation.
It has been recognized by UNESCO.Ĭultural heritage is not just monuments and collections of objects. It takes place on November 1 and 2-All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day on the Catholic calendar-around the time of the fall maize harvest. Today’s Día de los Muertos celebration is a mash-up of pre-Hispanic religious rites and Christian feasts.
The dead were still members of the community, kept alive in memory and spirit-and during Día de los Muertos, they temporarily returned to Earth. For these pre-Hispanic cultures, death was a natural phase in life’s long continuum. Unauthorized use is prohibited.ĭay of the Dead originated several thousand years ago with the Aztec, Toltec, and other Nahua people, who considered mourning the dead disrespectful.
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