What is the day of the Dead?

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What is the day of the Dead?

• More than 500 years ago, when the Spanish
  Conquistadores landed in what is now Mexico, they
  saw native Indians practicing a ritual that
  seemed to mock death.

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The Day of the Dead

• A ritual known today as Día de los Muertos, or
  Day of the Dead, had been practiced by the local
  people at least 3,000 years.
• The Spaniards tried to stamp out the ritual but
  were unsuccessful.
• It is still celebrated in Mexico,
• Central America and certain parts of the USA.

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What is The Day of The Dead?
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When is the Day of the Dead?

• In the Aztec calendar, the Day of the Dead ritual
  fell roughly at the end of July and the beginning
  of August.
• The Spanish priests moved the ritual so that it
  came at the same time as the Christian holiday of
  Halloween (in Spanish "Día de Todos los
  Santos,")
• As a result the Mexicans now celebrate the Day of
  the Dead during the first two days of November
  rather than at the beginning of summer.

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Day of the dead masks
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What is The Day of The Dead?

• This ancient festivity has been changed
  throughout the years, but which was originally
  intended to celebrate children and the dead.
• The best way to describe this Mexican holiday is
  to say that it is a time when Mexican families
  remember their dead, and the continuity of life.

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What happens in the celebrations?

• The days activities consist of visits by
  families to the graves of their close kin.
• At the gravesites family members start by
  sprucing up the gravesite, decorating it with
  flowers, setting out and enjoying a picnic, and
  interacting socially with other family and
  community members who gather at the cemetery.
• Families remember the departed by telling stories
  about them.

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Art work of the Day of the Dead
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Art work of the Day of the Dead
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What happens in the celebrations?

• The Day of the Dead is a time for the dead to
  return home and visit loved ones, feast on their
  favorite foods and listen to their favorite
  music.
• In the homes, family members honor their deceased
  with ofrendas or offerings which may consist of
  photographs, bread, other foods, flowers, toys
  and other symbolic offerings.

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Calaveras - songs and poems about the festival
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Examples of work by students
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Examples of work by students
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Examples of work by students
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David Cation - artists work
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David Cation - artists work
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Credits

• www.teachnet-uk.org.uk
• Audio by Martha Peña-Parr