Did you know the story behind the Cempasúchil the Flower of Día de Muertos?

[SunKat]

Not all Mexican legends revolve around wars and male gods, some of them are beautiful love stories, even with their tragic ending. 

Among petals of cempasúchil flower, tamales, tequila, papel picado, candles and copal, the altar of the dead is built as a tribute to the loved ones that inhabit the world of the dead, but also as a way to heal the pain they cause the absences among the living. ? What almost nobody knows is the story that comes behind these beautiful flowers and is that the legend behind this endemic flower of Mexico is announced in the same name. “Cempasúchil” is composed of the Nahuatl words: cempohualli, which means “twenty” and xóchitl which means “flower”. The “twenty petal flower” has bright yellow and orange colors that color the fields of Puebla, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Oaxaca and San Luis Potosí after the rainy season. 

Like any great love story in the mythologies of the world, the legend of the cempasuchil flower is tinged with the loss and pain of death. It is said that Xóchitl and Huitzilin were two children who used to play together in the country. As they grew, a love that surpassed the earthly was born among them. Each afternoon, they climbed the mountain to bring flowers to Tonatiuh, the Sun god; who sent his warm embrace and blessed the couple. Between the rays, Xóchitl and Huitzilin swore to love each other forever.

Unfortunately, when Huitzilin was old enough he was called to fight in the war and defend his people. Soon news arrived that the young man had been wounded in the battle and, finally, had died. Xochitl could not contain his pain; He ran to the top of the mountain and implored Tonatiuh to reunite her forever with Huitzilin. The god was moved and sent a ray of fulminating sun that Xóchitl turned into a flower of intense color, such as the light that had bathed.

The flower remained closed, until one day it flew over a curious hummingbird. The bird landed in the center of the flower and it opened immediately, displaying 20 petals and a strong unmistakable scent. It was the young people who finally joined together forever, for as long as the flower of cempasúchil and the hummingbirds exist, the love of Xóchitl and Huitzilin will live.

Thanks to the smell of the petals of the cempasúchil flower that is placed on the altars, the spirits can guide themselves and find their way to the space that will receive them with their favorite drinks and foods; and, of course, with the immense love of their relatives and loved ones who miss them. Undoubtedly, the iconic cempasúchil flower is one of the symbols of the Mexican identity and its traditions; It not only represents a habit that remains alive in our days, but carries a burden of our pre-Hispanic past and our roots.

 https://beautifulmesoamerica.com/cempasuchil-legend/