All Souls’ Day & All Saints’ Day     top

American Folklife Center : the Fantasy and Folklore of All Hallows
http://www.loc.gov/folklife/halloween.html
Authored by Jack Santino, Professor of Popular Culture, for the University of Pennsylvania, this Library of Congress Web page describes the origins of All Souls’ Day and Halloween.

Catholic Education Resource Center : All Saints' and All Souls'
http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0199.html
In this reprinted article from the Arlington Catholic Herald, the Dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School of Christendom College, Father William Saunders, details the origination of the All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, and Halloween holidays. As Saunders is the pastor of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Sterling, Virginia, he succinctly presents these histories from the Catholic point of view.

The Cabildo : Antebellum Louisiana -- Disease, Death, and Mourning
http://lsm.crt.louisiana.gov/cabildo/cab8a.htm
As All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day are holy days in the Catholic religion, the celebration of these holidays in the heavily Catholic state of Louisiana could be considered relevant to research of these traditions. This site, presented by the Cabildo, a Louisiana State Museum, provides information about mourning in the antebellum era, images of related holdings, historical photographs, and a nineteenth century advertisement.

Zenit : Reflection on All Souls' Day and All Saints' Day
http://www.zenit.org/article-14338?l=english
Based in New York, Zenit.org reports the activities, writings, and lectures of the Bishop of Rome, or pope, in Vatican City. This particular piece is of interest to the researcher, as it can be considered as a primary resource. The Zenit site provides a translation of an address by Pope Benedict XVI in which he speaks of the tradition and spirit that embody All Saints’ Day. To the thousands listening in St. Peter’s Square, the pope says, “Dear friends, may the traditional visit of these days to the tombs of our dead be an opportunity to think without fear about the mystery of death.”

El Día de los Muertos     top

Smithsonian Latino Center's Theater of the Dead
http://latino.si.edu/DayoftheDead/
Click and drag colorful papel de picado (punched paper), calavera (skulls and skeletons), marigolds, photos, toys, and foodstuffs to build an online altar. This Smithsonian National Museum of American History site provides PDF lesson plans, and information about the ofrenda, symbolism, spirits, and customs and beliefs relating to El Día de los Muertos.

Traditions of Mexico : El Día de los Muertos
http://www.houstonculture.org/mexico/frontphotos.html
Developed by the Houston Institute for Culture, Traditions of Mexico: El Día de los Muertos y Mas, addresses traditions such as sugar skulls, altars, and pan de muertos. This resource also indexes interviews that delve into the stories of Spanish-speaking persons recollecting and describing the traditions of El Día de los Muertos.

ThinkQuest Library : Día de los Muertos Links
http://library.thinkquest.org/trio/TTQ03066/links.html
An annotated bibliography of links relating to El Día de los Muertos. This list includes resources such as the Mexico Connect (a monthly e-zine) and Arizona Central (a daily newspaper).

U.S. Department of the Interior : Día de los Muertos
http://www.nps.gov/cham/historyculture/day-of-the-dead-celebration.htm
Available in Spanish or English, this Web page offers a brief history of El Día de los Muertos. Created by the National Park Service, the site features a slideshow and information about las catrinas, a popular El Día de los Muertos image created by Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada.

Online Databases (Rio Hondo Students only)     top

Biography Resource Center
Use the Biography Resource Center to find information about Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada.  Posada's skeleton images, such as Calavera de la Catrina are popularly associated with El Día do los Muertos.

Britannica Online
Use Britannica Online to search an Internet directory that includes more than 130,000 links to Web sites selected, rated, and reviewed by Britannica editors.    

Gale Virtual Reference Library
Contains the full text to Gale Reference print volumes.  Type "All Souls Day" in Basic Search to retrieve citations and links to articles regarding this search term.

ProQuest
An extensive periodicals and newspaper database covering social issues, business, science, current events and more.  In Advanced Search, use "All Souls Day" and "Holiday" as search terms.