Dia de los muertos, Mex-kun style!

This is a collab between me and my buddy lovescraf

History:

El Día de los muertos, translated as "The day of the dead", is a traditional celebration of Mesoamerican origin that honors our ancestors, relatives, and dearest ones who already passed away. The world knows this day as a Mexican celebration, although it is also celebrated in some Mexican communities in the US, as well as some Central American countries (which, at some point in history, were part of the Mexican Empire, but that's another story).

This roots of this tradition can be traced way back to the times of the Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Aztecs, Mayas, Nahuas, Totonacas, etc. All of them practiced rituals in honor to the dead for more than 3,000 years. These celebrations were preceded by the god Mictecacihuatl, also known as the "Lady of the death", which nowadays corresponds to "La Catrina".During their times, it was pretty common to keep the skulls of people as trophies and showcase them during the rituals as a symbol of death and rebirth. This explains why nowadays the skull is so iconic for the Day of the Dead. This also probably impacted on the invention of the famous sugar and chocolate skulls. 

These cultures had a very different way to see death. For them, dying was the beginning of a journey to the underworld, known as Mictlán, which for them was something openly accepted in a positive way. In fact, it was an HONOR to be granted with the opportunity of sacrificing their life for their gods. Also, the price of winning the iconic "Juego de pelota" (ball game) was to be sacrificed to the gods. Another common practice during these ancient rituals was to put a vampire mask on and strike fabulous poses, lol jkjk comment if you got the reference!

It wasn't until the Spaniards arrived and started spreading their christian beliefs, along with the concepts of hell, heaven, punishments, etc. that the human sacrifices went into a halt. Yet, the Spaniards had a hard time spreading their religious beliefs since the indigenous communities in Mesoamerica were very devote to their gods, and taking away their traditions was like taking away their identity. This is where the cultural mix kicks in, since in order to convince the indigenous people to embrace Christianity, the Spaniards had to come up with some creative ways to adapt the original mesoamerican traditions into something more "acceptable" in Spanish standards.

For example, the "pan de muerto" (the one Mexico-kun is holding in the drawing). There are two stories about how the "pan de muerto" came to be.

Some historians indicate that the Spaniards invented a bread that looked like a heart covered in red sugar, in an attempt to emulate the blood and the heart ripped out of an Aztec princess to be offered to the gods. This in order to convince the indigenous people to eat bread instead of practicing human sacrifices. Nowadays we eat pan de muerto with standard white sugar lol, and I honestly don't see the "heart" figure. I thought it was a bread decorated with stuff that looked like bones but oh well perhaps at the very beginning it was red and looked like a heart.

Other historians indicate that the origin of the "pan de muerto" comes from an old tradition started by the first people who inhabited Mesoamerica. According to the book "De Nuestras Tradiciones", the "pan de muerto" used to be elaborated out of toasted amaranto seeds, mixed with the blood of the sacrifices offered in honor to Izcoxauhqui, Cuetzaltzin, or Huehuetéotl. 

Nowadays:

So, yeah. What we know nowadays as the Day of the Dead is the result of the blending of cultures. In 2003, Unesco declared the Day of the Dead as a "Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Patrimony of Mankind". Nowadays we usually make an altar for our dearest ones who've passed away and we decorate it with cempasuchil flowers, candles, fruit, etc. We also commonly eat pan de muerto, sugar or chocolate skulls. People also write their own "calaveras", which is some kind of humoristic epitaphs meant for the people who are still alive.

For Mexico, death has a duality: the end, but at the same time the beginning of a new cycle. It also represents the farewell of our dearest ones, and the welcoming of the others who already left long time ago. That¡s what the altars are for. For them to arrive to our world and have some food waiting for them after their long journey.

According to Luis Curiel Monteagudo in his book "Azucarados Afanes, Dulces y Panes", "eating the dead is for the Mexican a real pleasure. It is considered the anthropophagy of bread and sugar." This phenomenon is assimilated with respect and irony at the same time, because while we accept death as a necessary process in life, we also enjoy defying death by laughing at her and eating her.

Curiously enough, The Day of the Dead falls around the same dates as other celebrations also related to the death, such as "All Saints day", and Halloween. I guess the former one is the reason why we celebrate The Day of the Dead in November the 1st and 2nd in the first place. Back the old days, though, the dead where honored in the 9th month of the Solar Aztec Calendar and the celebrations lasted for a whole month.

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Sources:

N.A. (n.d.). Dia de los Muertos: Historia. Retrieved from: diadelosmuertos.yaia.com/histo…

Origonio, Yannella (2015). Día de los muertos: su historia y simbolismo. Universia. Online. Retrieved from: noticias.universia.net.mx/port…

Terra. (n.d.). Historia del pan de muerto, una leyenda de azùcar y sangre. Vida y Estilo Terra. Online. Retrieved from: vidayestilo.terra.com.mx/hallo…

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I used Colors! 3D for this drawing.
Mexico OC © Nadiezda (Omg, senpai noticed me! She faved this drawing! 😱)
Hetalia © Hidekaz Himaruya