This is the meaning of the hummingbird on Day of the Dead altars

On these dates, when the deceased visit the homes of their loved ones, different elements are usually placed in the Day of the Dead altarslike fruits, food, drink, sugar skulls, butbecause the hummingbirds They are key pieces in some offerings and what does it mean? Here we tell you.

He Day of the Dead is a tradition ancestral where those who are no longer are venerated, but it is also a festival full of symbolism and stories that are shared from generation to generation and one of them is representation of the hummingbird on altars and offerings; this is his meaning.

Hummingbird and its meaning on Day of the Dead

The animals are very important for the celebration of the Day of the Dead, For example, the xoloitzcuintle dog helped the deceased get to the other side, the owl represented death, and the nahuales fed on people's souls. However, there is an iconic bird in these festivities, the hummingbirds.

According to the lNahuatl eyenda, hummingbirds represent the Aztec god Huitzilopochtliwho was born after his mother, the goddess Coatlicuecreator of life and death, she would get pregnant by raising some white feathers and placed them in her huipil, but the arrival of the baby caused the fury of other gods, who planned to kill them, Without any success. So the meaning of this bird sometimes has a symbol of fight against death.

However, a story shared in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) magazine Global points out that They are messengers of good newsbut they also represent the warriors who died in combat.

The legend of the marigold and the hummingbird, the meaning of love

There is another Nahuatl legend of the marigold flowershared by the Agri-Food and Fisheries Information Service, which talks about meaning of the hummingbird. It all started when two little ones, a girl named Xochitl and a child Huitzilin, they loved each other from day one They met and when they grew up they climbed a hill to ask the God of the Sun, Tonatihu, to bless their union.

However, Huitzilin went to war and died, leaving sad and helpless Xochitlwho asked to the deity that united in eternity. This is how Tonatihú turned into a golden flower, the marigoldwhich remained closed until a hummingbird He approached her; this bird turned out to be his beloved couple.

Therefore, the hummingbird in conjunction with other elements, such as the cempasuchil flower, in the Day of the Dead altars and offeringsthey have different meanings among which are the fight against death, the good news and the infinite love for those who are no longer here.