By Lara Medina – KCET.org – Photo: AmbarCCPM | Wikicommons.
Photo: Day of the Dead altars in Metepec, Mexico.
Sixteenth-century Spanish Catholic rituals honoring the dead shared some characteristics with those of indigenous cultures in Latin America. Influenced by Roman practices, Christians also made graveside meal offerings with special bread and prayed to the dead. Belief in an after-life and the ability and responsibility to commune with the dead offered points of intersection between the two belief systems.
