Halloween focuses more on our fear of mortality and the spookiness of the unknown.
It was thought that, on this day, the walls between our world and the spirit world became thin enough to allow ghosts to pass through and damage crops. Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve was a festival created to mark the end of harvest season and the beginning of the “ dark half" of the year. The Day of the Dead and Halloween are often compared, but there is a fundamental difference between the two celebrations. Mexicans pay homage to death with both respect and humor, celebrating both the past and the present simultaneously.Į ven though the whole idea of inviting the dead to visit us, and celebrating death in general may seem like a pretty morbid idea, the point of this day is to understand that death is an eventual part of life and to use this as a reason to enjoy ourselves while we are still here.Įl Día de Muertos reminds us to not only be more appreciative of life moments but to take advantage of the time we have.
On this day, death, which is usually something that is feared and associated with negative emotions, turns into something joyful. Also, beautiful parades are organized in which entire communities are invited to celebrate together. Elaborate altares (shrines) are created in homes to invite the souls of the dead back into the world of the living. Graves are visited and decorated with flowers. On and around the second of November each year, Mexicans remember their deceased family members in a variety of ways.
Eventually, customs of the Spanish started mixing together with those of the different indigenous groups. When the Spanish arrived during the XV century, they were horrified by the pagan rituals they witnessed and later on sought to spread Catholicism amongst these people. Since prehistoric times, the Aztecs and other indigenous groups used human skulls in rituals to symbolize death and rebirth. Way before the Spanish conquistadores arrived in Mexico, the native indigenous people living in the area already had ceremonies that revolved around death and the natural cycle of living things. T his important celebration is a mixture of both indigenous rituals and Christian beliefs. The Day of the Dead is celebrated each year on the second of November, coinciding with Christianity's All Soul's Day.
A Day to Honor the Dead and Celebrate Life
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS SKELETON SKETCH PDF
I've included a free downloadable PDF at the end for you to print if you wish to practice with it! : ) Also, I will show you step by step how I go about drawing a human skull and why it is so important to have, at least, a general understanding of the underlying bone structure when drawing a face. In this post, I will explain a bit about this wonderful celebration and the story behind the well-known Catrina character. Mexican Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead has always been one of my favorite yearly celebrations and, this year, I decided to use it as inspiration for a few watercolor illustrations.
DIA DE LOS MUERTOS SKELETON SKETCH FULL
I consider myself extremely lucky to have lived most of my life in a country that, not only has produced amazing artists of all kinds, but has a rich and unique culture full of color, symbolism and joy. In what ways do you think your society's traditions and beliefs have impacted your work as an artist? How different do you think your artwork would be if you had grown up in a different place in the world? Is there any celebration or tradition that you find particularly inspiring?Īs human beings, we will always carry with us a certain degree of influence from the countries we have lived in and the people we have lived with, especially during our formative years.
0 kommentar(er)
