Well…. Kind of…keep on reading
BY ELLA DRAKE
There are some things they definitively share, as the time of the year, the colors used (purple, orange, green). Both mark the end of the harvest (There is where the colors come from). The end of Autumm and the beginning of winter.
Actually, both come from ancient cultures, in different parts of the world. Halloween has its origin in the Celtic culture and is based more on fear, terror, fright, etc. The ancient Celts believed that the dead would come back to haunt them and scare them, that is why they wore masks and costumes to avoid being recognized. When this custom began to be disputed by several countries around the world, it was modified and the costumes emulate both the souls of the dead and the living who hide behind a mask or a costume, that’s why we see ghosts, monsters, vampires, devils, zombies, etc.
The celebration of the Day of the Dead has its origin in the ancient Mexican culture and is a mixture between the paganism of those cultures and the Christianization of the Spaniards.
This day in Mexico is not a day of fear at all, but on the contrary. It is a day of joy because our loved ones who have passed away come back to visit us, and we wait for them with joy and that is why the “Altars of the Dead” are made and you will also see them everywhere on these dates. On these altars (which also have ancient origins) the photo of the deceased is placed, and all the food that the person liked to eat, bottles of tequila, beer, cigars, traditional breads, cempatzuchitl flowers (those bright orange flowers), fruit waters and everything that the honored person liked are served on tables of various heights, and the music that he liked is played, in short, it is a celebration of the person who is no longer here.
Some families have the custom of taking all these “ofrendas”, as they are called, to the cemetery. They spend the day there, they eat there, it is like a pic-nic and their belief is that the deceased is very happy living with them. If you saw the movie “Coco” it will ring a bell to you.