November is the prelude to the end of the year and is the month in which one of the most important and representative dates for pre-Hispanic peoples is celebrated: the day of the dead. While it is true that it is in Mexico where there is a deep-rooted tradition of this celebration, in all American countries there is a custom of honoring the dead every November 2.

In many cultures, death can be seen as the end of everything, but in others, it is the opportunity to transcend, to move to another plane, to leave the physical burdens and to meet your loved ones already dead. For some people, death means sorrow and crying, but in some cultures this fact can be celebratory. In reviewing the culture of some Hispanic countries, we will discover that the idea of celebrating this day is intended to guide or illuminate the path of those who have recently died and that as punishment for their actions, they are punished to wander in something called purgatory. Similarly, in recent years, it has been seen as the opportunity to remember our deceased, watch over them, pray them and in one way or another honor them.

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In Venezuela, the country where I live, the Day of the Dead is not seen as a celebration, but as a silent tribute to all our loved ones already dead. It is not the party that we can observe through the media and social networks, where there is food, sweets, drinks, music and many skulls that represent death. About Calaveras, in Mexico and in the world, La Calavera Garbancera is famous, better known as La Catrina, which was initially used as a symbol of protest and denunciation, but which is currently part of the culture of the popular use and even part of Mexican fashion.

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As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, in Venezuela the celebration of the day of the dead has a more lucid sense. Generally, people use this day to tend and care for the grave of their loved ones. Family mausoleums are usually cleaned, candles and flowers. Hence we can see that day, especially at night, thousands of lights lit in the cemeteries, which not only produces a shudder at the majesty of death, but at the devotion that still exists in the bereaved.

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Likewise, some people usually make altars in their homes, which are filled with photographs, candles, glasses with water and flowers. Each of these objects are a symbol in death. For example, the glass with water and candles are a tradition that comes from the belief that the body dies, but the soul or spirit does not; So the spirit of the newly dead person remains in transit for nine days, saying goodbye and close to theirs. It is believed that the water and the burning candle serve to guide the spirit and to make its transition from one threshold to another easier: the water to quench the thirst for its long walk, the candles to light the way.

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In 2017, the film Coco made the celebration of the dead famous. In this film, if you haven't seen it yet, you talk about how people only die when they are forgotten. Since I was 16 years old, I go to the cemetery to honor the memory of my paternal grandmother. We brought flowers and candles to her grave. If the candles don't light or go out, we usually pray and talk to her, telling her that we miss her very much. For the past three years, we have also paid homage to my father. To her grave we take a chair, food and drink, but most especially, we bring her love. There, we talk to him and ask him to take care of us. Because he is not dead: he is alive in our hearts.

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BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCE

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%ADa_de_Muertos
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Catrina
https://diariocorreo.pe/mundo/dia-de-los-muertos-en-mexico-782819/

Written by: @nancybriti

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