5th Life and Death Traditions Festival

Posted by playa_beach_properties on Oct 31, 2010 in Blog | 1 comment

A little bit of history

Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos in Spanish) is a holiday celebrated by many people in Mexico. It’s a ritual the indigenous people had been practising at least for 3,000 years… a ritual that the Spaniards would try unsuccessfully to eradicate.
The ceremony had changed a little through the years, mainly because it has been merged with Catholic theology, but it still maintains the basic principles of the Aztec ritual, such as the use of skulls.

The meaning of this festivity is to gather family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed and visiting graves with these as gifts.

The Life and Death Traditions Festival

In Playa del Carmen, Xcaret will host for the fifth time The Life and Death Traditions Festival,  on October 30 and 31, and November 1 and 2, 2010.

Xcaret will be a mosaic of colours and traditions that, will offer an extensive  program of activities that will include everything from traditional altars and prayers to historical and literary discussions, community theatre, traditional dances, handcrafts, culinary and visual arts exhibitions, as well as concerts.

This year Chiapas will be the special guest at this traditional celebration dedicated to the faithful who have passed away, under the title “200 years of Life and Death”. Thus Xcaret Park is ready to celebrate this beautiful Festival, where, as in each edition, the main attraction will be the promotion of the arts and traditions of Mexico.

Source: Wikipedia, Xcaret / Images: Sugar Skulls,Xcaret