So the 31st of October is almost upon us and we all know what day that is Halloween! Now-a-days Halloween, especially in college towns like Frostburg, has come a day where ladies get to dress slutty and gentlemen, let’s be real, only dress up for the sport of watching the ladies and drinking. For young children it is a time to dress up, ditch the parents and get candy! This is kind of depressing considering that in some cultures, Halloween or the day of the dead is a celebration to remember the dead. So I decided to dedicate this blog post to educating people on how the day of the dead is celebrated in other culture and countries.
Fun fact! The day of the dead is not celebrated on October 31st in most cultures.
In order to educate you, I had to educate myself first. The Huffington Post published a great article on just this topic.
Starting out with China, China actually celebrates multiple holidays to celebrate their deceased. Teng Chieh, also known as The Lantern Festival or the “Shangyuan Festival” takes place on the 15th day of the year and marks the end of the Chinese New Year. On this day, for almost 2,000 years the people of China will place food and water in front of photographs of their deceased family members, and light lanterns to guide the spirit paths. Another fun part of this tradition are the Lantern Riddles. People will write riddles on a piece of paper and put them on their lanterns, prizes are given if guessed correctly. Check out this sight for more information, http://bit.ly/RW0kcS. Qingming Festival also known as Pure Brightness Festival, Clear Bright Festival, Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Dat takes places on the 104th day after the winter solstice (around April 5th). During the Qingming Festival relatives of the deceased visit and tend to the graves of their loved ones. According to Wikipedia, traditionally people would bring whole roosters and such, but today the festival has become less formal and happenings include sweeping of the tombs, offering of food, drinks and small gifts to honor their ancestors. Check out http://bit.ly/3irSJt for more information. The third festival to celebrate the dead in China is the Hungry Ghost Festival. This occurs on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar also known as ghost month. This is the day in which spirits are believed to emerge from the lower realm. “On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased,” http://bit.ly/dl25Q.
Fun fact! The day of the dead is not celebrated on October 31st in most cultures.
In order to educate you, I had to educate myself first. The Huffington Post published a great article on just this topic.
Starting out with China, China actually celebrates multiple holidays to celebrate their deceased. Teng Chieh, also known as The Lantern Festival or the “Shangyuan Festival” takes place on the 15th day of the year and marks the end of the Chinese New Year. On this day, for almost 2,000 years the people of China will place food and water in front of photographs of their deceased family members, and light lanterns to guide the spirit paths. Another fun part of this tradition are the Lantern Riddles. People will write riddles on a piece of paper and put them on their lanterns, prizes are given if guessed correctly. Check out this sight for more information, http://bit.ly/RW0kcS. Qingming Festival also known as Pure Brightness Festival, Clear Bright Festival, Ancestors Day or Tomb Sweeping Dat takes places on the 104th day after the winter solstice (around April 5th). During the Qingming Festival relatives of the deceased visit and tend to the graves of their loved ones. According to Wikipedia, traditionally people would bring whole roosters and such, but today the festival has become less formal and happenings include sweeping of the tombs, offering of food, drinks and small gifts to honor their ancestors. Check out http://bit.ly/3irSJt for more information. The third festival to celebrate the dead in China is the Hungry Ghost Festival. This occurs on the 15th day of the seventh month of the Chinese calendar also known as ghost month. This is the day in which spirits are believed to emerge from the lower realm. “On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased,” http://bit.ly/dl25Q.
In this picture family members are honoring the deceased during the Qingming Festival in China.
Not including Halloween, El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is possibly the second most known celebration for the dead in the United States. But this celebration actually originated and is the main celebration for honoring the deceased in Mexico and Latin America. The reason that it has become so popular in the United States is due to the increased immigration of people from Mexico and Latin America into the United States. El Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on November 1st through the 2nd. If you are Catholic you would know that these days coincide with All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. On these days the deceased’s family and friends will make alters dedicated to the dead. These alters typically consist of flowers, candles, keepsakes of the deceased and even some of their favorite foods. Why is the celebration two days, you may ask. Well the first day (November 1 ) is usually dedicated to children and the second (November 2) to adults.
Part of the traditions of El Dia de los Muertos is the creation of eccentric shrines, and the offereing
of food and drink to the deceased. (http://bit.ly/S8NgUY)
Also in conjunction with All Souls’ Day is the celebration known as Ghede in Haiti. This celebration is actually a voodoo tradition where loud music is played to awaken Baron Samedi, the god of death. This holiday is very important in a country that is 90 percent Catholic and 100 percent Vodun. Like those traditions found in China and Latin America, cemeteries are visited and offerings are made to the deceased. Even more, participates of the celebration usually dress up in costumes and will paint their faces white to mimic the dead.
To learn more about the day of the dead celebrations around the world visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/14/halloween-travel-seven-co_n_1009444.html#slide=406428.
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