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The ancient indigenous people of Mexico have practiced rituals celebrating the lives of past ancestors for around 3,000 years. The celebration now known as Day of the Dead originally fell on the ninth month of the Aztec calendar and was observed for the entire month. In the 20th century, the month-long festivities were condensed to three days called The Days of the Dead: Halloween on October 31, Day of the Innocents on November 1, and Day of the Dead on November 2.

La Catrina is one of the most recognizable figures of Day of the Dead, a towering female skeleton with vibrant makeup and a flamboyant, feathery hat. The Lady of Death, worshipped by the Aztecs, protected their departed loved ones, guiding them through the final stages of the life-and-death cycle. La Catrina that we know today was created in the early 1900s by the controversial and political cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada. The artist and husband of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, included José’s La Catrina in one of his murals, depicting 400 years of Mexican history. His mural, “Dreams of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park”, includes himself and a young child holding hands with La Catrina, who is dressed in sophisticated garb and a fancy feathered hat.

Plans for Day of the Dead are made throughout the year. Toys are offered to dead children, and bottles of alcohol or jars of alote get offered to dead adults. Most families decorate their loved ones’ graves with ofrendas, which often include marigolds. It’s said that these specific flowers attract the souls of the dead to the offerings, and the bright petals and strong scent guide the souls from the cemetery to their family’s home.

Since the 1960s, when the Mexican government declared it a public holiday as part of educational policy initiatives, Dia de Muertos has been observed throughout Mexico. The tradition was inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s Representative List of Humanity’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2008.

: https://nationaltoday.com/day-of-the-dead/

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