Día de los Muertos @ Yahoo! en Español.

Yahoo! en Español (http://espanol.yahoo.com) announced a special features section on its home page designed to educate, entertain and inform users on the age-old traditions of “Día de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) and Halloween. The colorful site is running from Friday, October 25th at 7:00 p.m. (EST) to Sunday, November 3, 2002 at 12:00 a.m. (EST) and will feature a special edition of Selecciones de la Semana (http://espanol.yahoo.com/ seleccion) listing websites that focus on the two festivities.

“Yahoo! en Español’s continuing commitment to providing relevant, insightful and entertaining information for Hispanics is further demonstrated with our newly created initiative, said Fernando Battaglia, Producer for Yahoo! en Español”. “Our special section on these two storied holidays, featuring Selecciones de la Semana, will serve as a perfect starting point for visitors to celebrate and learn more.” he added.

Fun and Spooky

Yahoo! en Español’s special site will capture and celebrate the rich tradition of Halloween and
“Día de los Muertos”. The site will feature:

· Selecciones (Picks of the Week) – Selecciones is a weekly compilation of websites chosen by Yahoo! en Español web experts. This week’s edition will feature a variety of information on “Día de los Muertos” and Halloween, providing visitors with a central index for items on both of these festivities.

· Postales (Greetings) – The site will also link users to a special section consisting of humorous and spooky postcards that visitors can send to friends and family.

· Busqueda y Directorio (Search and Directory) – Drawing on the unparalleled search and directory capabilities of Yahoo! en Español, this special site will link users to a directory listing out websites that focus on the two festivities.

· Articulos de Interes (Relevant Articles) – There will also be a link to articles, which will focus on activities and the latest news regarding “Día de los Muertos” and Halloween.

While spirituality drives “Día de los Muertos” and Halloween, both holidays are steeped in tradition. The feature on Selecciones de la Semana will aim to bridge the relevance of the two.

Recently, during Hispanic Heritage Month, Yahoo! en Español hosted another promotional mini-site, designed to celebrate the culture, contributions and heritage of Hispanic Americans. The site featured interactive elements on the month’s festivities.

“Día de los Muertos”
The Day of the Dead is a traditional holiday that dates back more than 3,000 years. Ancient Meso-American civilizations, such as the Aztecs, believed the dead moved on to a different world – identifying death as a stage of life. The indigenous groups’ rituals involved using skulls as trophies and thought them to symbolize rebirth. These rituals were the early beginnings of the modern day celebration.

As European influence took over the region in 16th century, the native groups combined traditions with Catholic customs and chose November 1 and 2 (All Souls Day and All Saints Day in Catholic tradition) as time for “Día de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead) celebration.

Today, “Día de Los Muertos” is celebrated in thousands of Hispanic homes across the country. Families honor their deceased loved ones with ofrendas, symbolic offerings.

Halloween
The history of Halloween is also one of tradition and ancient folklore. The ancient Celts celebrated the end of the year and thought that their gods allowed sprits to roam the earth for that one night every year. This tradition mixed with the Catholic Church rituals and the word “Halloween” was formed out of a contraction of the term All Hallows Eve (or the eve of All Saints Day), November 1st.