Halloween in the Desert Southwest- La Dia de Los Muertos

Posted by Robert Dailey Sep 9, 2006

La Dia de Los Muertos was originally a MesoAmerican, particularly Aztec and Mayan, celebration that took place around the end of July and early August (in our Gregorian calendars).

The celebration was a religious ceremony dedicated to the goddess, Miccailhuitontli, translated as "The Lady of the Dead." Not ghoulish in any way, it was more a form of ancestor worship and remembrance of those who have died.

Orange marigolds were used as a sacred color, and as a path, leading the dead back to the land of the living for one or two days.

Post-conquest, Spanish priests, hoping to rechannel and redirect what they perceived as a pagan ritual, changed the dates of the celebration to the October 31, All Hallows Eve (the eve of All Saints Day).

The practice lives on today in many Latin communities in the United States, and cities with large Mexican-American populations celebrate La Dia de Los Muertos. San Diego, Los Angeles, El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Albuquerque, and hundreds of other smaller cities and towns in the southwest celebrate the feast, in lieu of (or together with) Halloween.

Families gather at cemeteries to clean and beautify gravesites, have elaborate picnics there, and tell stories about their loved ones who have passed on.

The celebration is sometimes held on October 31 these days, but it also takes place on November 1 and 2. November 1 is La Dia de Los Angelitos, the day of the little angels or children who have died, and November 2 commemorates adults who have died.

At the celebrations, during which Catholic-oriented religious rituals are also practiced, pan de muerto or Bread of the Dead and sugar skulls are eaten.