A few years ago whilst attending an Emirates Culinary Guild event I met Alejandro an amazing chef with the ability to turn any meal into a Mexican feast. He was born near Zacatecas to a farming family....Is desire to learn about Italian culture was just as vivid about me wanting to learn about his native Country, Mexico. Who wouldn't want learn about what Mexico has to offer. It is a land with rich history and amazing colorful characters.
The thing that fascinated or fascinates me about Mexico is their cultural beliefs...none more than their DAY OF THE DEAD.
We as Italians celebrate the DAY OF THE DEAD by going to the cemetery and praying, we remember our loved-lost ones with a hint of nostalgia and misguided smiles.
The Mexicans celebrate this way...................
The Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos) is a Mexina holiday celebrated throughout Mexico, in particular the Central and South regions, and by people of Mexican heritage elsewhere.
The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and helping support their spiritual journey. In Mexican culture, death is viewed as a natural part of the human cycle. Mexicans view it not as a day of sadness but as a day of celebration because their loved ones awake and celebrate with them.
The holiday is sometimes called Día de los Muertos in other countries, a back-translation of its original Mexican name, Día de Muertos. is particularly celebrated in Mexico where the day is a public holiday. Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. Gradually, it was associated with October 31, November 1, and November 2.
Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec Festivals dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl.
It has become a national symbol and as such is taught (for educational purposes) in the nation's schools. Many families celebrate a traditional "ALL SAINTS DAY" associated with the Catholic Church.
Originally, the Day of the Dead as such was not celebrated in northern Mexico, where it was unknown until the 20th century because its indigenous people had different traditions. The people and the church rejected it as a day related to synchronize pagan elements with Catholic Christianity. They held the traditional "All Saints' Day" in the same way as other Christians in the world.
There was limited Mesoamerican influence in this region, and relatively few indigenous inhabitants from the regions of Southern Mexico, where the holiday was celebrated. In the early 21st century in northern Mexico, Día de Muertos is observed because the Mexican government made it a national holiday based on educational policies from the 1960's; it has introduced this holiday as a unifying national tradition based on indigenous traditions
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