Product Description
Incense & Holders – Day Of The Dead Skulls
Size: 29cm.
Available in:
- Green
- Purple
About Day of the Dead: Also known in Spanish as Día de Muertos which is a Mexican holiday. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and help support their spiritual journey.
Prior to Spanish colonization in the 16th century, the celebration took place at the beginning of summer. It was moved to 31 October, 1 and 2 November to coincide with the Roman Catholic triduum festival of Allhallowtide: All Hallows’ Eve, Hallowmas, and All Souls’ Day. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. Visitors also leave possessions of the deceased at the graves.
Scholars trace the origins of the modern Mexican holiday to indigenous observances dating back hundreds of years and to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. The holiday has spread throughout the world, being absorbed within other deep traditions for honoring the dead .
In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday that many Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries and churches. In Spain, festivals and parades are frequently held and people often gather at cemeteries and pray for their deceased loved ones at the end of the day. Similar observances occur elsewhere in Europe, and similarly themed celebrations appear in many Asian and African cultures. In France and some other European countries, All Souls Day was observed by visits of families to the graves of loved ones, where they left chrysanthemums.
Autumnal rites are among the oldest celebrated on earth. It appears that in every country the Day of the Dead occurs at the year’s end, after the last harvests, when the barren earth is though to give passage to the souls lying beneath it.
She also notes exceptions to the autumn season, such as the Buddhist Bon festival which is held in summer. But similarly themed celebrations of honoring the dead have been practiced since prehistoric times in many Asian and African cultures.
