November 2 is all souls day or the day of the dead. Access thousands of highquality, free k12 articles, and create online assignments with them for your students. It is celebrated on november 1st, and is a latin american tradition. Rather than deny and fear death this event teaches us to accept and contemplate the meaning of mortality. They prepare offerings of flowers, sugar skulls, and special bread, and make delicious foods to eat and share. The day of the dead celebrations in mexico developed from ancient traditions among its. Theyre celebrating with special sweets, music, bread. Families make art of different types to decorate the graves of relatives as well as altars honoring the dead. Fill in the blank or sentence starters in english and spanish. Celebrating mexicos day of the dead travel the guardian bibliography. It is also a meaningful custom for many spanishspeaking people living in the united states. The multiday holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died, and helping support their spiritual journey. Read up about the day of the dead with these books and resources. Presgr 2a festive and colorful celebration of the mexican and latin american holiday.
Weve written numerous posts on lesson plans, fiction and nonfiction books, and other online resources that will help teachers explore this topic with their students. The celebration occurs annually on october 31, november 1, and november 2, and is held to honor those who have died. Graves are decorated with white orchids and babys breath. Published by the minnesota historical society press. The word death is not pronounced in new york, paris or in london, because it burns the lips. There are altars draped in cloth and covered in marigolds and twinkling candles. S despite the white faces and the skulls, its not meant to be a spooky holiday and its not halloween.
By spreading marigold petals, they guide the dead home to join the festivities. Printable kids activities learn and play day of the dead. Sugar skulls and fancy dress arent all there is to the day of the dead. Pdf the chapter explores how young children in the state of puebla, mexico are socialized with respect to. Loved ones come together to build altars that celebrate the life and memory of the dead. Public library the goal of the program was to educate kids and adults on a different culture while encouraging arts and crafts exploration with culturally appropriate snacks. After reading about day of the dead celebrations, students will use a dictionary to define vocabulary words from the passage. Improve your students reading comprehension with readworks.
The mexican, in contrast, is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates it. Day of the dead combines the ancient aztec custom of celebrating ancestors with all souls day, a holiday that spanish invaders brought to mexico starting in the early 1500s. Images courtesy of publishers, organizations, and sometimes their twitter handles. Spirits of the dead visit their families on october 31st and leave on. The holiday, which is celebrated mostly in mexico on november 1 and 2, is like a. Apparently inspired by the film, mexico city hosted its.
It is a remembrance of the origin and path that we all must follow and an opportunity to relive and strengthen the bond with loved ones no longer around us. Streets can be filled with decorations, sugar skeletons, ofrendas, flowers, calavera skulls and parades. Students watch 3 video clips in either english or spanish to learn about this celebration and then start making their day of the dead skull books. Researchstudents can use encyclopedias, books from their school or public library, or. Understanding visual arts in relation to history and culture. It is also a time to come to terms with our mortality and become aware of the cycle of life and death. Students watch 3 video clips in either english or spanish to learn about this celebration and then start making their.