Celebrate Halloween in Mexico with Mexican Auto Insurance!

Wouldn’t it be fun to get your Mexican auto insurance, visit Mexico and experience the fusion of traditions firsthand? This marvelous country continues to amaze us with its rich culture and joyous and colorful festivities.

Here’s another celebration that will leave you breathless. Read on to find out why!

New tradition: Día de las Brujas

Celebrating Halloween is becoming more prevalent in Mexico. The interaction between the Mexican and American cultures has resulted in embracing the United States tradition of All Hallows’ Eve.

On October 31st, children in some parts of the country go trick-or-treating from door to door. Dressed up in costumes, they ask for candy, shouting “we want Halloween” (in Spanish: queremos Halloween). This is a relatively recent custom in Mexico.

Halloween (Día de las Brujas, in Spanish) is a fun warm-up for the Day of the Dead, with its decorations to mark the occasion. In many stores, you can buy toys and candy portraying Death or in the shape of coffins and skeletons. Candles, flowers and paper wreaths are also sold to mark the Day of the Dead on November 2^nd.

Old tradition: Día de los Muertos

Halloween is still overshadowed by The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), which combines both the Catholic tradition and Pre-Hispanic beliefs. Día de los Muertos is an occasion to pray for the departed souls in the Purgatory. The origins of this celebration can be traced back to Mesoamerican cultures. The Aztec honored their ancestors and deceased ones during the entire month of August.

Celebrated on a larger scale than Halloween, The Day of the Dead is a public holiday, with fiestas and fireworks, processions and parades, dancing and singing. You will see people dressed as skeletons, with faces done up as skulls so colorful, joyful, and anything but spooky. Short poems called calaveras (skulls) are sometimes written and read, describing habits or interesting anecdotes of the deceased.

The Day of the Dead is celebrated over two days, on All Saints’ Day and All Soul’s Day, though the celebrations can begin as early as Halloween. November 1^st is El Dia de los Angelitos or the Day of the Little Angels. On this day, it is believed that the souls of departed children come home to spend the day with their family on Earth. November 2^nd is the actual Day of the Dead.

During this time, Mexicans honor their deceased loved ones. They pray, visit cemeteries, adorn the graves with the yellow/orange marigold cempasuchil, and make decorated altars called ofrendas in their homes to welcome the spirits of their loved ones. For each deceased relative, a candle is lit to guide them on their way back.

Mexicans offer the spirits food, as well as toys for deceased children. The traditional food of the day is a special bread, pan de muerto. Sugar skulls are often placed on the altar, along with water and salt, which are meant to purify the spirit.

The traditions and celebrations of the Day of the Dead depend on the region, but even public schools build altars, typically without the religious symbols. Government offices usually have a small altar, as well.

Two holidays combined into a unique experience

The Day of the Dead is such an important aspect of Mexican culture and heritage with a unique combination of customs that UNESCO recognized and added this holiday to its list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Last year, Mexico City held its first Day of the Dead parade, with dancers, actors, skeleton marionettes, and acrobats. Approximately 135,000 people attended and participated in this celebration. This spectacle was the result of the increased popularity of Halloween in Mexico. It is evidently changing Mexico’s traditional Day of the Dead, adding a special touch to it.

Every year, there is a debate about whether Mexico should choose the modern over traditional. However, both Halloween and The Day of the Dead are a part of contemporary Mexican society. And both celebrations give tourists an amazing opportunity to experience something new.

Explore Mexican tradition with your Oscar Padilla Mexican Auto Insurance

When you think of Halloween, the usual symbols cross your mind, such as pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons, witches, and skulls. Yet, in Mexico, Halloween is enriched with a deeply rooted tradition of the Day of the Dead.

Visit Oscar Padilla website MexicanInsurance.com and get your Mexican auto insurance online to get ready for your trip to Mexico. There you will see how the deceased are honored and how death is celebrated in a warm, lively way, as just another part of life.