Day of the Dead Around The World
Across the world, many different cultures mark a day to celebrate ancestors who have died. These celebrations range from lively and colourful festivals to spiritual and more serious affairs.
Over time celebrations have mingled together but despite the universal themes, each country maintains their own customs and traditions when it comes to honouring their departed.
One of the most famous celebrations is El Día de Muertos in Mexico. However, Mexico isn’t the only place to dedicate an entire day to celebrating long-lost loved ones. In the Western world, Halloween takes centre stage and in the Roman Catholic calendar, All Soul’s Day echoes the essence of Mexico’s Day of the Dead. India, China, Korea and the Middle East are some of the other places with lavish celebrations honouring the dead.
El Dia De Muertos
The Day of the Dead (el Día de los Muertos), is a Mexican holiday celebrated on 1 & 2 November in conjunction with All Saints Day and All Souls Day.
The Mexicans believe that on this day the souls of the dead return to visit their families and friends to enjoy food, drink and other earthly pleasures. Many families make offerings and produce decorations for this event.
It is a joyful time that helps people remember their loved ones and celebrate their memory instead of dwelling on the sadness of death.
Brightly coloured sugar skulls are a common feature throughout the festival. These skulls symbolise the joy and spirit of the deceased loved ones. This practice depicts the colour of life, but it can also contain some hints of the deceased one’s personality and favourite things in life.
Dressing up as skeletons is part of the fun. People of all ages have their faces artfully painted to resemble skulls and wear glamorous dresses and fancy suits to imitate La Catrina who is the most recognizable symbol of Day of the Dead. She’s an elegantly dressed skeleton who reminds us of our mortality.
Day of the Dead in Ireland
In Europe, the birthplace of Day of the Dead celebrations can be traced to Ireland. The origin of Western-style Halloween celebrations is “Samhain”, a Celtic holiday that falls on October 31st and means “the end of the harvest”. It represents the moment when villagers would store their provisions and sacrifice the livestock they would need to survive the winter. To scare the evil spirits away they built large bonfires to protect the living.
Indian Day of the Dead
In India, the autumn festival of Shraddha is referred to as the Day of the Dead in India. Special rituals are observed by Hindu families across the country, primarily during Pitru Paksha, which falls in September and October. During this time, families perform rituals involving food offerings and prayers to pay homage to their ancestors and seek their blessings.
Day of the Dead in Nepal
Gai Jatra, also known as Festival of the cows, is one of the most popular holidays in Nepal and is held each year in August or September. Families who lost a relative in the last year lead a cow (or a child dressed as a cow, if they can’t afford a cow) down the village street in a procession. The cow is one of the most revered animals in Hinduism, and participants believe that the animal will help lead the deceased family member into the afterlife. Each year, people dress up in bright costumes and take part in processions.
The Hungry Ghost Festival
The Hungry Ghost Festival is celebrated by Buddhists and Taoists in the Spring. It is when the gates to the netherworld are said to be most open to the world of the living.
Celebrations begin with a parade, which culminates with lanterns being placed on floats and released onto bodies of water. Families believe that the further the lantern travels before catching fire, the luckier the family will be in the coming year.
During the Hungry Ghost Festival, families place food on altars to appease hungry spirits.
There are many more celebrations around the world, so why not visit the encyclopaedias in our virtual library to find out more about them!
Nine Night
Nine-Night takes place nine days after a person dies. It’s a funeral tradition with African roots which is practiced in Caribbean countries (primarily Jamaica, Belize, Antigua, Grenada, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Trinidad, and Haiti). It’s a celebratory event with music, singing and the sharing of food, where friends and family come together to share their memories and stories of the person who died.
Festival of the Dead in Redbridge
This year, inspired by all of these different customs and traditions from around the world, the annual Redbridge Festival of the Dead will be even bigger and better, taking place in both Wanstead and Ilford. Join us for two colourful and memorable days, celebrating life and the memories of the loved ones we’ve lost.
On Thursday 31 October, you are invited to join us at Wanstead Library from 12.30pm to 5pm and at Redbridge Central Library on Friday 1 November from 12pm to 5.30pm. Everyone (big and small) is invited to come dressed up in brightly coloured clothes or their favourite Day of the Dead inspired costumes to join in with the celebrations and take part in the lantern parade – add some lights or glow sticks and you’ll be ready to light up our procession. Prizes will be awarded to the best dressed!
Activities will include arts and crafts, storytelling, live music, lantern parades and much much more!
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