Mexican Religious Traditions

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ACA 111 13 February 2012 The Mexican culture is full of religious traditions and proud traditional holidays which span over 500 hundred years. My writing assignment will cover the Mexican religious traditions and holidays. When Hernando Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521, the missionaries came into the area and converted the indigenous people to Catholic. So during the first decade of the Spanish rule, thousands of Mexicans converted to Catholicism. El Dia de los Muertos ( Day of the dead) is celebrated every Autumn in Mexico. It is normally observed during the Catholic feasts of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day during 1st and 2nd of November. The Mexicans celebrate this 2 day holiday in return of deceased relatives to their loved ones remaining on earth. This has been a 4,000 year old celebratory tradition for the Mexican people to honor the dead. The celebration is the opportunity to laugh at death and it involves a candlelight vigil and La Llorada (the weeping). During this time, the Mexican people use skeletons and specialty foods to adorn the altars of the dead. One of the more popular holidays is Our Lady of…show more content…
It’s also celebrated by Americans here in the United States. Here in the United States, the date is observed as a celebration in Mexican pride and heritage. It is to celebrate the freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War. The significance of Cinco de Mayo was the battle of Puebla. The Mexicans defeated a better equipped French Army who greatly outnumbered them. There was approximately 8,000 French soldier to 4,000 Mexican soldiers. Not to mention the French Army has not been defeated for almost 50 years during this time. The important significance about this battle was that no country in the Americas has been invaded by any other European military

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