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Day of the Dead by Shmuel Ross (adapted) https://www.teachervision.com/mexico/resource/5616.html?detoured=1
The Mexican holiday of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, takes place over the first two days of November. Its origins are a mixture of Native American traditions and a set of Catholic holidays. While the holiday's practices include spending time in cemeteries, making shrines to the dead, and displaying artistic representations of skulls and skeletons, the occasion is festive, rather than morbid. Death isn't seen as the end of one's life, but as a natural part of the life cycle; the dead
continue to exist much as they did in their lives, and come back to visit the living every year. Questions:
1. What is the setting of this holiday? _______________________________________ 2. When does this holiday take place?
a. October 30th 31st b. October 31st—November 1st c. November 1st—2nd d. November 2nd—3rd
3. Which of these is NOT practiced on Día de los Muertos? a. Making shrines to the dead b. Visiting cemeteries c. Displaying art d. Trick-‐or-‐treating
4. True or False: Día de los Muertos is a holiday that celebrates death as a natural part of the human life cycle. ______________________
Aztec origins In the Aztec calendar, there are two months that each contain twenty days. The first month was called Miccailhuitomi which means "Feast of the Little Dead Ones.” The following month was called Miccailhuitl, which means "Feast of the Adult Dead." Evidence shows us that Aztecs celebrated both months together. They celebrated the cycle of death and life for forty days. Questions
1. What does Miccailhuitomi mean? ___________________________________________________ 2. How many days did Aztec celebrate the cycle of life and death? _________________
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The Spanish Imposition In the early 1500s, Spanish conquistadors, led by Hernando Cortéz, conquered the Aztec Empire, taking over the area we now know as Mexico. They immediately tried to convert the native population to Catholicism. They did this for religious and political reasons. The Spanish missionaries practiced All Saints' Day (November 1st) and All Souls' Day (November 2nd). Eventually, the practices of the Aztec people and other American Indian groups incorporated these Catholic traditions with their own traditions. Día de los Muertos is a unique hybrid of the two. Questions
1. When is All Souls’ Day?
_________________________________________________________________ 2. Why is Día de los Muertos a unique hybrid of cultures? __________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Welcoming the Dead People believe that the souls of one's family come home to their families on Día de los Muertos. They join in the Day of the Dead festivities. First, those who died as babies come home. Next, those who died as children come home. Finally, those who died as adults come home. Families set up altars (ofrendas) in their homes. These are decorated in bright colors and full of the favorite foods of their dead. Typically, the altars contain photographs of the dead, representations of things they liked, and items representing the four elements: candles for fire, drinks for water, fruit for earth, and fluttering tissue-‐paper decorations for wind. The dead take in the essence of the food, which will later be eaten by the living. In some areas, families go to the graveyard to celebrate through the night. They clean and decorate the graves, sometimes setting up ofrendas on the gravestones, as bells are rung. Questions
1. Which souls return to their families first? ________________________________________________________
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Day of the Dead Double Puzzle! Directions:
1. Unscramble the words from the article above.
2. Copy the letters in the numbered cells to other cells with the same number.
2. What are the four elements? _______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What are ofrendas? What is their purpose? _______________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Skeleton Decorations The major feature of Day of the Dead decorations is skeletons, or calacas. Skeletons are everywhere, from tissue-‐paper scenes to tiny plastic toys, from cardboard puppets to ceramic sculptures, from posters to papier mache. These skeletons are usually cheerful, and they are designed to show the full range of activities and professions people perform. Farmers, barbers,
secretaries, fire fighters... if somebody does it while alive, you can find that person’s job of a skeleton doing it while dead. This theme extends to the day's food and treats. The Day of the Dead feast
typically includes a special egg-‐batter "bread of the dead," pan de muerto. While the form of this bread is different from region to region, it is often decorated with strips of dough resembling bones, or made to resemble a dead body. Also common are skulls and skeletons made of sugar or candy. Some people get sugar
skulls made to resemble themselves, or with their names inscribed on them. Questions:
1. True or False: Calacas are usually sad. __________________________ 2. Food eaten during Día de los Muertos is usually:
a. Candy b. Food in the shape of a skeleton c. Sandwich bread d. Turkey bones
Is Día de los Muertos similar to Halloween in the United States? Both Day of the Dead and Halloween are originally from All Saints' and All Souls' Days but the tones of the two holidays is very different. Today, Halloween in the U.S.A. is a time to celebrate scary things with scary movies, costumes, and parties. Children go trick-‐or-‐treating for lots of candy. But Día de los Muertos celebrates being with one's family—alive and dead—and remembering those who are no longer alive. Death is simply another stage after life, not something scary. Questions:
1. Which holiday celebrates family? a. Día de los Muertos b. Halloween
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2. Why do you think Halloween is important to people who celebrate it?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Why do you think Day of the Dead is important to people who celebrate it? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. In your opinion, what is the best way to remember loved ones who have died? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Día de los Muertos Crossword
S A D N E R F O B K K D S S I
S T N I A S C Y C L E Y U E M
C E L E B R A T I O N S G R O
X O U W U G B F F S Y L A U T
A D R H I R E N T R T R R T I
T A E R T R O K C I R T S L U
C R A C V O M Y U Q H L K U H
A V E A O E C H D A K N U C L
L S L B X R L T L N O L L E I
A T O I M I A L O T A H L T A
C S C U A E O T E B T C S Z C
A O J C L W V L I A E I C A C
S G C C E S E O E O R R A C I
D I C E X K W D N O N O R P M
M W N S S P I R I T S S Y H K
AZTEC CALACAS CANDY CELEBRATIONS CULTURES CYCLE DEATH DECORATIONS HALLOWEEN LIFE MEXICO MICCAILHUITL MICCAILHUITOMI NOVEMBER OCTOBER OFRENDAS SAINTS SCARY SKELETON SOULS SPIRITS SUGARSKULLS
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Design your own calaca Pick 6 adjectives to describe yourself or the person
you would like to remember and write it inside the calaca.
My 6 words are:
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