MCC Daily Tribune

Day of the Dead

Campus Activities Board along with the PRISM Multicultural Center presents

DAY OF THE DEAD

Origins of Day of the Dead

The roots of the Day of the Dead, celebrated in contemporary Mexico and among those of Mexican heritage in the United States and around the world, go back some 3,000 years, to the rituals honoring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. The Aztecs and other Nahua people living in what is now central Mexico held a cyclical view of the universe, and saw death as an integral, ever-present part of life.

Upon dying, a person was believed to travel to Chicunamictlán, the Land of the Dead. Only after getting through nine challenging levels, a journey of several years, could the person's soul finally reach Mictlán, the final resting place. In Nahua rituals honoring the dead, traditionally held in August, family members provided food, water and tools to aid the deceased in this difficult journey. This inspired the contemporary Day of the Dead practice in which people leave food or other offerings on their loved ones' graves, or set them out on makeshift altars called ofrendas in their homes.

Please stop in and visit the Altar display (which is really amazing), in the PRISM Multicultural Center in Building 1 - Room 108. The display will be up for viewing from now until November 8, 2019. Professor Jorge Alas will have presentation and discussion about the display, what it all means on November 5, 2019 at 12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Attached Files:
HISPANIC HERITAGE 3 EVENTS.pdf

Shirley Batistta-Provost
Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
11/05/2019