he much popular Halloween is upon us. Second to Xmas, of course. We have our yearly wave of scary media, frightening
Similarities In Different Cultures
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decorations, parties, and sweet treats with it. It has been part of American culture for a long time, so here is some information about similar holidays in different cultures—time to freshen up.
BY: JUAN LOPEZ
Let us start with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). Besides Halloween, it's probably the biggest Halloween-time celebration you know. After all, it's celebrated not just in Mexico but also around Latin America and the United States. So how is it similar to Halloween? Dia de Los Muertos is a holiday that reunites the living and dead. It is a day to celebrate the life of those who passed and celebrate death as a natural part of life.
Similarly, during Halloween (in a more religious context), Christians mourned the death of loved ones, sometimes with blessed candles at gravesites. People can generally tell when something is for Dia de Los Muertos because of Calaveras, skulls. The term typically refers to sugar skulls used to decorate altars that people put up for their families, but they're used a lot more throughout the holiday. For example, you can find people wearing makeup to transform their face into a Calavera. This relation with skulls can be connected to Halloween's skeletons for costumes, decorations, and music. A lot of the U.S.A. knows about "Spooky Scary Skeletons." Besides that, celebrants in Mexico use cempasuchil, the orange-yellow Mexican marigold, to decorate and create paths to altars. The cempasuchil is said to guide the spirits of family members home. Halloween and Dia de Los Muertos aren't the same thing, but they can both be connected to older celebrations.
08 THE SCOOP