Welcome to the Day of the Dead Celebration!
The St. George Art Museum will be putting on a Day of the Dead Celebration and Exhibition during the month of October. This will be a juried show with works done by local artists, students, etc. to showcase and honor the memories of our ancestors. Artists are invited to submit work for consideration in the following forms: 2D with hanging wire to be displayed on the wall, 3D that can be displayed on a pedestal, video and installation pieces pending approval as determined by jury and museum staff. Artists are required to submit labeled information for each entry. Prizes will be given to artists who are voted Best in Show and there will also be an interactive altar for viewers to add to.
The Day of the Dead is a fundamental holiday that embodies the fusion of religion, Mesoamerican customs, and Spanish culture. The holiday is observed every year from October 31 to November 2. It is a holiday that honors and recognizes deceased loved ones. It is believed that the gates of heaven will open on October 31 at midnight, and for 24 hours the children's spirits will be able to join their families again. On November 2, the souls of adults rejoin their families. It coincides with Halloween and two feast days for the Catholic Religion. On October 31, Halloween is celebrated. On November 1, All Saints' Day is observed. It is a Catholic feast day that honors deceased children. All Souls' Day, another Catholic feast day that honors deceased adults, is observed on November 2.
A complex mixture of elements originating from Catholic teachings and indigenous beliefs is rooted in the Day of the Dead. The holiday has developed over time and is now known as the Mexican holiday, Día de los Muertos. The origins of the celebration of the Day of the Dead go back 3,000 years ago to the ceremonies celebrating the dead in pre-Colombian Mesoamerica. An individual was believed to be traveling to Chicunamictlán, or the Land of the Dead, upon death. Nahua traditions believed that after getting through nine difficult stages and a journey of several years, a person's soul can achieve Mictlán, or the final resting place. Food, water, and instruments are provided by family members to support the deceased on this difficult journey. Similarly, individuals leave food and other offerings on their loved ones' graves or set them out in their homes on ofrendas (offering altars) for their deceased relatives to feast on and enjoy when visiting.
The Day of the Dead and Halloween are two different and special celebrations. In ancient Europe, Pagan gatherings of the dead consisted of feasting, music, and bonfires. Some of these practices persisted even after the advent of the Roman Catholic Church. The church unofficially embraced these practices as All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. In medieval Spain, people carried pan de ánimas (spirit bread) and wine to their loved ones' graves. They also fill graveyards with lit candles and flowers to help the deceased souls find their way back to their homes on Earth. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors brought these practices to the New World.
These rituals of the Day of the Dead are also observed today. Family members travel to cemeteries where their loved ones are buried. They clean up and decorate the tombs with flowers and food. A sugar skull, or a calavera, is the most common part of Día de los Muertos. Calaveras (skulls) and calacas (skeletons) are the most common symbols related to the Day of the Dead. Mictecacíhuatl, the Aztec goddess of the underworld, was re-envisioned by the printer and cartoonist José Guadalupe Posada into a female skeleton now known as la Calavera Catrina, the most familiar Day of the Dead symbol.
With parties, foods, drinks, and activities that the dead enjoyed while alive, Day of the Dead honors the lives of the deceased. Día de los Muertos celebrates death as a natural, integral part of the human experience. The dead are awoken from everlasting sleep on this celebratory day by those they love so that they may rejoice and reconnect.