Easter vs. Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)
Dia De Los Muertos, otherwise known as the Day of the Dead, is a holiday that is celebrated mainly in Mexico and South America, although it is sometimes celebrated as far north as the United States and Canada.
The holiday is a day of remembrance of departed friends, family members, and ancestors. In order to remember the dead, family members and friends will build private altars in their honor, which often include items they loved during life such as favorite foods, beverages, and memorabilia. Dia De Los Muertos is best recognized by its motif of skulls and flowers, particularly marigolds, which are the flowers of the dead in Mexican culture.
Easter is a Christian religious festival that celebrates Jesus Christ’s rebirth after having been crucified. The Eastertide, or Easter Season traditionally lasts for 40 days, although it is mostly celebrated with just a handful of days including Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, and such. In addition, Easter, like many Christian holidays, have taken on a secular motif, which for Easter is usually things like bunnies, chicks, and eggs. Easter has strong ties to Jewish Passover, both for symbolism and calendar date, which is in early spring, and to pagan fertility rituals.
While these two holidays are celebrated during opposite times of the year, Dia De Los Muertos is celebrated November 1st and 2nd, while Easter is observed in late March or early April, and have wildly differing symbolism, like the bunnies, chicks and eggs of Easter, and the skulls and flower, often found somewhat macabre by members of the American and European culture, they share some aspects of similarity. Easter, of course, is a celebration of rebirth of Jesus Christ, following the Christian teachings and of giving the dead new life. The principle of Dia De Los Muertos is nearly the exact same, with a few minor differences. Christians take Jesus’ rise from the dead fairly literally. He died, was buried in a cave, and rose from the dead. In the Christian sense, he was once again, a walking, talking, breathing Messiah. Participants in Dia De Los Muertos believe that during the day of the dead, the spirits of the departed can more easily visit and commune with the living. They visit cemeteries and burial grounds bearing their gifts for their dead relatives because they believe that they will be able to see and enjoy them, regaining an element of life. Rabbits even make an appearance during the Day of the Dead, adorning the traditional sweet egg bread baked for the occasion.
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