Day of the Dead: Google Doodle celebrates traditional festival

Google Doodle is celebrating Mexico’s most important annual festival, Día de los Muertos, on November 2. Also known as the “Day of the Dead,” the traditional festival brings a multi-day holiday allowing families and friends to come together to honour the dead by offering prayers, food and flowers.

According to Google’s statement, indigenous tribes in Mexico have celebrated the festival for thousands of years. The Aztecs and Mexicans have believed since time immemorial that the souls of the dead visit the living every year. The tradition was picked by Spanish settlers in the 16th century, who later turned the festival into a holiday.

Today, Mexican families and clans place the photos of their loved ones, who’ve left the world on their home altars and light candles to invite them home. People invite each other to their homes, showcase unique decorations, and share food and happiness. While the event has its origins in Mexico, today, the “Day of the Dead” is celebrated in several Latin American countries.



The “Day of the Dead” and All Souls’ Day, the last of the Allhallowtide triduum, celebrated by Western Christians, are observed on the same day. On All Souls’ Day, churches and priests organise mass to pray for departed souls who are believed to be in purgatory. All Souls’ Day observation was standardised by Odilo, the Benedictine Abbot of Cluny, in the 11th century. Since then, it has been observed on November 2.

FAQs:

1. Who made the “Day of the Dead” a holiday?
   Spanish settlers adopted the festival in the 16th century and made it a holiday.
2. Since when is the festival being celebrated?
   Indigenous Mexicans have been celebrating the “Day of the Dead” for thousands of years.