Mexico's Day of the Dead
No discussion of Mexico can be accomplished without bringing up the acclaimed Day of the Dead. Most Americans are familiar with this holiday in Mexico as it is portrayed in the various cinema horror movies however nothing could be further from the truth.
The early Spanish Conquistadors that landed in Mexico were very amazed at a native practice which appeared to mock the concept of death. This was a practice that had been followed for at least 3000 years.
Although the Spanish attempted to eradicate this ancient custom they had no luck what-so-ever in doing away with it. This ritual is commonly known as the Día de los Muertos, or in English as the Day of the Dead.
This ritual has prompt celebrations all around the country of Mexico and is enjoyed by both the young and the old. Although the catholic theology has attempted to merge the ideas of the Dia de los Muertos with the mainstream religion it still maintains its basic principles of it's Aztec roots with its use of skulls and associated paraphernalia.
A visit to Mexico during the month of November will reveal people donning various wooden skull masks commonly known as calacas and you can readily see these people dancing in honor of their relatives which have past on. Many homes have altars created within and these wooden skulls will ultimately end up being placed upon them as a dedication to these dead ancestors.
To watch these activities is truly an interesting experience. Sugar skulls inscribed with the names of the various dead relatives upon the forehead are literally eaten by one of the relatives.
The Aztecs kept human skulls as a sort of trophy and would display them during these rituals. These skulls symbolized both death and rebirth combined. The human skulls honored the dead which the Aztecs believed would come back during the month long celebration to visit the deceased family.
Interestingly, unlike the conquering Spanish who generally viewed death as life's final end the Aztec natives viewed the situation as a continuation of our present life. Therefore, instead of developing a fear of death the natives embraced it to the fullest. Their philosophy was that our present life was merely a dream and only when we experience death did we become truly awake.
Needless to say the Spaniards considered this death ritual as sacrilegious and perceived the Aztecs as pagan and barbaric. During their attempts to convert the natives to their religion they made every effort they could to crush the beliefs in this ritual. However the Aztec belief simply refused to go away and continued to our present day.
Today this celebration is honored on the Christian day known as All Saints' Day or All Souls' Day which is the first of November. If you plan to visit Mexico during these days you owe it to yourself to view these interesting and colorful festivals.
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History quetions I need help A.S.A.P!!!? (Answers: 1) (Comments: 0)
4) Research into alternate routes to Asia was funded by the government of
a) England
b) France
c) The Netherlands
d) Portugal
8)Proof that Columbus was wrong came from
a) Magellan's expedition around the world
b) Balboa's discovery of the pacific ocean
c) both a & b
d) neither a nor b
10) Spanish conquest of the Aztecs was aided by
a) the Aztec belief that Cortes was a god
b)European disease ravaging the Aztecs
c)Tribes subject to Aztec rule allying with Cortes
d) all of the above
11) Spanish treasure from the Americas was used to
a) buy trinkets for the kings mistresses
b) finance a series of religious wars
c) bribe the Pope to give Spain an advantage
d) import food to offset bad crop yields
12) Humans are thought to have first reached the Americas
a)5,000 years ago
b) 30,000 years ago
c)2,000 years ago
d)100,000 years ago
13) Statements about the lives of prehistoric come from
a) records found in burial sites
b) cave paintings
c) historical imagination
d) stone tablets
14) Before contact with Europe, Native Americans
a)lived at a Stone Age technology level
b)suffered very few communicable diseases
c) created a remarkable diversity of cultures
d) both a & b
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Solve the things below.? (Answers: 2) (Comments: 0)
The size and corse of the Amazon River.
Three important uses of the water in the Amazon River.
The Aztec attitude toward warfare.
Aztec beliefs about the god Huitzilopochtli.
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The Mayan Calandar ends in 2012. Do you think that's when the invaders will lose? (Answers: 12) (Comments: 1)
There's alot of squawk about the world or something ending in 2012 because that's when the Mayan Calandar ends. Isn't it possible that it is only the MAYAN world that ends in 2012? And all those hanging onto the Maya/Aztec beliefs? Like La Raza and others who falsely claim the SW USA is their land. I won't be sorry to see them go. Only those who follow the rules and integrate will survive into the new world (SW North America) ...AMERICANS!
What are your thoughts on this?
Here's the yahoo search link on Mayan Calendar.
http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=Mayan+Calendar&sp=1&fr2=sp-top&ei=UTF-8&fr=ks&ei=UTF-8&SpellState=n-1141624289_q-M18R8UurPHvvFPfqsEw2GwABAA%40%40
Several people answering have made false claims against Europeans instead of answering the question. Here are a few links for those willing to learn.
The Mayan Calendar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayan_calendar
The history of Europe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Europe
And see where we fit in to the history of America
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_North_America
Ancient Calendars of Europe (besides the older version of the one we use now)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coligny_calendar
http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/s/stonehenge_and_the_sequani_calendar.html
European Culture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:European_culture
And even more importantly, American Culture
I quote "The strongest influences on American culture came from northern European cultures, most prominently from Germany, Ireland and England.[2]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_culture
And you can learn even more if you look.
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According to the Mayan/Aztec belief, what will happen on 12/12/12? (Answers: 10) (Comments: 1)
What is supposed to happen?
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