The Mexican death
All Saints’ Day is a holiday that takes place on 1 November and is celebrated in many parts of the world. The honoring of the memory of the dead has been carried out since 998 as a tribute to the Benedictine monk Saint Odilon of France. In many Catholic countries every year thousands of people pay tribute to their dead with flowers, prayers and visits to the cemetery. However, there is one country where the meaning of death is the biggest festival of the year: and this is Mexico.
In Mexico, the All Saints’ Day is known as the Day of the muertos chiquitos. It is a day to commemorate the return of the dead to earth. As National Geographic explains in the report “Day of the Dead: Origins and curiosities of the Mexican tradition”, the Mexican indigenous vision sees the 1st of November as the transit of the souls. On this day, Mexicans make offerings with cempasúchil flowers, candles, photographs and food. It is the marigold petals that provide the color during the day. The orange tones and the delicacy of the petals decorate all the graves and ceremonies of the deceased. Specifically, as the Los Angeles Time explains in the article “Day of the Dead, a Mexican tradition that celebrates death with various elements”, for Mexicans, the orange petals retain the warmth of the sun: a symbol that acts as a guide for the deceased on 1 November.
Given this array of symbolism, Mexico has been proclaimed the capital of the festival of the dead all over the world. Whereas in Europe, 1 November is a day of melancholy and longing for loved ones who have passed away. In the land of cempasúchil flowers, Mexicans celebrate the souls of the dead and fill the country with color and festivity, turning death into a living culture.
