LEGENDS

Wednesday, July 19th.

legends

LEGEND is a story coming down from the past; especially : one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable.

What is a legend?

Owing to their tragic backstory and strong smell, cempasuchiles are used during the Day of the Dead celebrations to guide spirits to their altars and their families that await them.

Once Huizilin came of age, he was called to war and was mortally wounded. Xochitl, overcome with grief ran up the mountain to plead with the god Tonatiuh to reunite her with Huizilin. Moved by their love, he turned Xochitl into a flower that remained closed until a hummingbird flew over it. The flower then blossomed into a beautiful yellow, with a wonderful smell. This way, their love would live through cempasuchiles (Mexican marigold) and hummingbirds forever.

The legend of how this emblematic flower came to be is a beautiful, but tragic Aztec love story. It’s little wonder that it is the most important flower during the Day of the Dead. The story tells of Xochitl and Huizilin, two children who would always play together in the fields. As they grew older, they fell in love. They would take flowers up the mountain as an offering to Tonatiuh, the god of the sun, for him to bless their love.

Cempasuchil flower

Do you know any legend?

Now, it's your turn. Tell us a legend that you know or you have heard before.

The chaneques

The moon and the sun.

The rabbit on the moon

They are small, mischievous spirits with the appearance of children who hide things, appear to people and sometimes people ask them for favors in exchange for candy or coins. Chaneque, according to the Nahuatl language, means "those who live in dangerous places". It is believed that they were minor gods of pre-Hispanic Mexican mythology and were in charge of protecting forests, jungles, springs, trees and animals. According to this urban myth, they became so mischievous that they frightened people, making them lose their "tonalli" -spirit associated with the day of their birth-, which had to be recovered through a ritual, otherwise the person ran the risk of dying.

match the title with the right legend.

It is said that many years ago, convinced that he did not belong to this world, a young man named Xutil asked his mother to go up to the sky. They began to walk on the roof of their house and realized that it was growing and had no end. Away from the earth, Xutil told his mother that it was time to separate, that she should not cry because they would always see each other. She would be the Moon and would light the Earth at night, and he would be the Sun, and would provide warmth to men. This is how the Sun and the Moon were created.

When the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl came down to earth in human form, he decided to tour the natural beauties of Mexico. At one point, the god decided to stop in a field to rest, but the night quickly caught up with him. This caused him to go in search of food. While he could find absolutely nothing to eat, Quetzalcoatl came across a rabbit. The god asked the rabbit where he could find what he ate to survive. The rabbit replied that he had grass to eat, but the god could not eat it because he might die. So, the rabbit told Quetzalcoatl that he could eat it so he would not die on the way. For the rabbit's sacrifice, the god raised it pointing to the moon, so that its image would remain forever in this star.

Thanks!