Day of the Dead

It is considered a very important holiday by many Filipinos (next in importance to Christmas and Holy Week), and additional days are normally given as special non-working holidays (only November 1 is a regular holiday). Herds of false killer whales and bottlenose dolphins associate together in the wild and there are unsubstantiated tales of natural hybrids between the two species. Playing card games, eating, drinking, singing, and dancing are common activities inside the cemetery, apparently to cope with boredom. For more detail on the ambiguity of the term, see whale. Since its supposed to be about spending time with dead relatives, families usually camp in cemeteries – with some choosing to spend a night or two near their relatives' tombs. Although the word 'wolphin' is a portmanteau of whale and dolphin, since false killer whales are members of the family Delphinidae, that is, dolphins and not true whales, the wolphin is a kind of dolphin. Tombs are cleaned or repainted, candles are lit, and flowers are offered. The backstage tour must be taken to see the wolphins.

It is seen as an opportunity to be with the departed and is done in a somewhat more solemn way. Both remain in captivity, and are not part of the normal tour at Sea Life Park. In the Philippines, it is called Araw ng mga Patay (literally, Day of the Dead) or Undas and has more of a "family reunion" atmosphere. At 6 months old the calf was already the size of a 1 year old bottlenose. In some parts of the country, children in costumes roam the streets, asking passersby for a "calaverita", a small gift of money; they don't knock on people's doors. Despite being fertile, Kekaimalu did not mother the calf (this is not uncommon in captive dolphins and was probably not related to her being a hybrid), but it was successfully hand-reared. Other special foods for Día de Muertos includes pan de muerto (bread of the dead), a sweet egg bread made in many shapes, from plain rounds to skulls and rabbits. The wolphin proved fertile on December 23, 2004, when she gave birth to a calf sired by a bottlenose dolphin; the calf is three quarters dolphin/one quarter whale and thus looks more like a dolphin.

Sugar skulls, inscribed with the names of the recipient on the forehead, are often eaten by a relative or friend. Named Kekaimalu, she has 66 teeth - intermediate between a bottlenose (88 teeth) and false killer whale (44 teeth). A common symbol of the holiday is the skull (colloquially called calavera), which celebrants represent in masks, called calacas (colloquial term for "skeleton"). The wolphin's size, colour and shape are intermediate between the parent species. Theatrical presentations of Don Juan Tenorio by José Zorrilla (1817–1893) are also traditional on this day. The first captive wolphin (whale/dolphin) hybrid occurred in captivity in 1985 where a female bottlenose dolphin and a male false killer whale shared a pool. Newspapers dedicate calaveras to public figures, with cartoons of skeletons in the style of José Guadalupe Posada. Although they have been reported to exist in the wild, there are currently only two in captivity, both at the Sea Life Park in Hawaii.

This custom originated in the 18th-19th century, after a newspaper published a poem narrating a dream of a cemetery in the future, "and all of us were dead", proceeding to "read" the tombstones. A wolphin or wholphin is a rare hybrid, formed from a cross between a bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (mother), and a false killer whale Pseudorca crassidens (father). Those gifted like to write "calaveras" – short poems mocking epitaphs of friends. Government offices usually have at least a small altar, as this holiday is seen as a valuable part of the mexican heritage. Public schools at all levels build altars with offerings, usually omitting the religious symbols.

Traditionally, families may spend some time around the altar telling stories about the deceased relatives as well as spend time praying. These altars usually have the Christian Cross, statues or pictures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pictures of deceased relatives and other persons, flowers such as marigolds, and many, many candles. Some families do build altars or small shrines in their homes. In some parts of Mexico, such as the towns of Mixquic, Pátzcuaro and Janitzio, people spend all night beside the graves of their relatives.

Some people believe the spirits of the deceased eat the spirit of the food, so even though they eat the food from the ofrendas after the festivity, they think it lacks nutritional value. Ofrendas are also put in homes, usually with foods and beverages dedicated to the deceased. Families will also offer trinkets or the deceased's favorite candies on the grave. These include wreaths of an orange marigold (also referred to as Flor de Muerto, the "flower of the dead", in Spanish, or zempoalxochitl, (twenty-flower) in Nahuatl, a term that has been carried into modern Mexican Spanish as cempazúchil), which are thought to attract the souls of the dead toward the offerings; toys, brought for dead children (los angelitos, or little angels); and bottles of tequila, mezcal, pulque or atole for adults.

Wealthier families build altars in their homes, but most simply visit the cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and decorate their graves with ofrendas, or offerings. During the period of October 31 and November 2 families usually clean and decorate the graves. Plans for the festival are made throughout the year, including gathering the goods that will be offered to the dead. The souls of children are believed to return first on November 1, with adult spirits following on November 2.

Indigenous people of the Americas often would outwardly adopt the European rituals, while maintaining their original native beliefs. This is an example of syncretism or the blending of a significant event from two different cultural traditions. The Spanish combined their custom of All Souls' Day with the similar Mesoamerican festival, creating the Día de los Muertos, The Day of the Dead. All Saints' Day is the day after Halloween, which was in turn based on the earlier pagan ritual of Samhain, the Celtic day and feast of the dead.

When the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in America in the 15th century they were appalled at the indigenous pagan practices, and in an attempt to convert the locals to Roman Catholicism moved the popular festival to the beginning of November to coincide with the Catholic All Saints and All Souls days. The festivities were dedicated to the celebration of children and the lives of dead relatives. Festivities were presided over by the goddess Mictecacihuatl, known as the "Lady of the Dead". The festival which was to become Día de Muertos fell on the ninth month of the Aztec Solar Calendar, near the start of August, and was celebrated for the entire month.

It was common practice to keep skulls as trophies and display them during rituals to symbolize death and rebirth. Rituals celebrating the lives of dead ancestors had been performed by these Mesoamerican civilizations for at least 3,000 years. The origins of the celebration of The Day of the Dead in Mexico can be traced back to the indigenous peoples of the Americas, such as the Aztec, Maya, Purepecha, Nahual and Totonac. .

In Mexico, despite the morbid subject matter, this holiday is celebrated joyfully, and though it occurs at the same time as Halloween, All Saints' Day, and All Souls' Day, the mood of The Day of the Dead is much lighter, with the emphasis on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased, rather than fearing evil or malevolent spirits. It is a public holiday in Brazil, and a large number of people celebrate it there typically by visiting cemeteries and churches, taking flowers, lighting candles, and praying. This time is especially notable in Mexico where it is primarily viewed as a public Mexican holiday, and it is also celebrated in communities in the United States with large populations of Mexican-Americans, the Philippines and to a lesser extent elsewhere in some countries of Latin America. The Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos, Día de los Difuntos or, simply, Día de Muertos in Spanish) is a Catholic celebration of the memory of deceased ancestors that is celebrated on November 1 (All Saints) and November 2 (All Souls).

“A Crack Between the Worlds.” Commonwealth 122 (1995) : 13-16. Roy, Ann. < http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/history/ >. 1 Nov 2004.

Day of the Dead – History. Miller, Carlos. Catholic 62 (1997) : 50. “Death Takes a Holiday.” U.S.

Garcia-Rivera, Alex. Catholic 66 (2001) : 38-41. “Death Takes A Holiday.” U.S. Conklin, Paul.

Great Britain: The Bath Press, 1991. The Skeleton at the Feast: The Day of the Dead in Mexico. Sayer, Chloe. Carmichael, Elizabeth.

“The Day of the Dead, Halloween, and the Quest for Mexican National Identity.” Journal of American Folklore 442 (1998) : 359-80. Brandes, Stanley. In it, the dead live in a world of their own, resembling the one they had in life. The 2005 film Corpse Bride was also influenced by this holiday.

In this movie, poor farmer Macario meets Death himself, and receives a gift from him. The renowned Mexican motion picture Macario starts on this day. However this Day of the Dead draws upon Celtic mythology in reference to the calendar. In the novel The Grey King by Susan Cooper, a rhyme states that Will Stanton's quest will begin "On the day of the dead, when the year too dies".

This scene is inaccurate, since Puerto Rico, the place where the scene is set, does not celebrate el Día de los Muertos. The film Assassins, starring Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas, has a scene that takes place during a Día de los Muertos procession. The climax of the 1996 motion picture The Crow: City of Angels takes place during the Day of the Dead. The finale of the second season of Dead Like Me revolves around and includes the myths of this day, such that the reapers (death) appear as they did in life.

Barbara Hambly's novel Days Of The Dead (2003) sets its climax on this day in 1835. The climax of the motion picture Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) is set amidst a parade that day. The 1998 Babylon 5 episode "Day of the Dead" is centered around an alien tradition with a more literal interpretation of the Mexican holiday's "returning spirits". Backdrop to an episode from Season 1 of Carnivàle..

The intended title for the game was "Deeds of the Dead". The main character is named "Manny Calavera", and is an skeleton in a formal suit. The 1998 Tim Schafer computer adventure game "Grim Fandango" is set on this day in the land of the dead and includes many allusions to the celebration, as well as other aspects of Mexican folklore. The climax of the animated film The Halloween Tree (1993) occurs after an explanation of the Day of the Dead.

The motion picture Bound by Honor (1993) uses the Day of the Dead to emphasize and to illustrate some of its plot points. In the play A Streetcar Named Desire (1947) by Tennessee Williams the Mexican woman selling 'Flores para los muertos' is a symbol of the way death seems to haunt the character of Blanche DuBois. The novel Under the Volcano (1947) by Malcolm Lowry takes place in on this day in a fictionalized Cuernavaca, Morelos.