Halloween And Day Of The Dead

Halloween and Day of the Dead

Halloween is major holiday celebrated on the 31st of October every year in the United Sates of America. Here it is one of the biggest holidays of all, with many citizens participating in different festivities throughout the day. The Day of the Dead, El Dia de los Muertos in Spanish, is a major celebration in Mexico and Latin America that is celebrated every year on the first and/or second of November. For Catholics we know November 1st as All Saints Day and November 2nd as All Souls Day in the United Sates. These two days are Catholic Church holidays, whereas Halloween and The Day of the Dead are not Church holidays; although some parts of El Dia de los Muertos are approved of and even presided over by the Catholic Church. Halloween was brought to the United Sates by Europeans who already celebrated the day. The Day of the Dead is partly Native American tradition and part Spanish influence. El Dia de los Muertos is not celebrated on nearly the same scale in the U.S.A. as it is in Mexico, where basically the whole population takes part during one of the two days it is celebrated on. This works both ways, Halloween is not celebrated on as grand a scale in Mexico and Latin America as it is in the united Sates of America. In the U.S.A pretty much the whole nation takes part in some way shape or form; whether it is by trick-or-treating, handing out candy, dressing up, going to a party, or any number of these things. Day of the Dead is celebrated to a much lesser extent in the U.S.A. than in Mexico. El Dia de los Muertos is celebrated much differently than Halloween. Halloween has to do with monsters and ghosts, demons and goblins, and witches and wizards. It also has to do with having fun and wearing a costume. Halloween does not have nearly the cultural significance that Day of the Dead has. Sure, Halloween is a big holiday, but does it really mean anything to us deep within our hearts