Editing Huītzilōpōchtli (section)

==Calendar==
[[Image:Huitzolopochtli de bry.jpg|thumb|right|An imaginative European depiction of an Aztec shrine. The idol of Huitzilopochtli is seated in the background. (1602)]]

[[Diego Durán]] described the festivities for Huitzilopochtli. [[Aztec calendar|Panquetzaliztli]] (November 9 to November 28) was the Aztec month dedicated to Huitzilopochtli. People decorated their homes and trees with paper flags; there were ritual races, processions, dances, songs, prayers, and finally human sacrifices. This was one of the more important Aztec festivals, and the people prepared for the whole month. They fasted or ate very little; a statue of the god was made with [[amaranth]] ''(huautli)'' seeds and honey, and at the end of the month, it was cut into small pieces so everybody could eat a little piece of the god. After the Spanish conquest, cultivation of amaranth was outlawed, while some of the festivities were [[:wikt:subsume|subsumed]] into the [[Christmas]] celebration.{{citation needed|date=May 2014}}

According to the ''[[Ramírez Codex]]'', in Tenochtitlan approximately sixty prisoners were sacrificed at the festivities. Sacrifices were reported to be made in other Aztec cities, including [[Tlatelolco (altepetl)|Tlatelolco]], [[Xochimilco]], and [[Texcoco (altepetl)|Texcoco]], but the number is unknown, and no currently available archeological findings confirm this.

For the reconsecration of Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan in 1487, dedicated to Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli, the Aztecs reported that they sacrificed about 20,400 prisoners over the course of four days. While accepted by some scholars, this claim also has been considered Aztec propaganda. There were 19 altars in the city of Tenochtitlan.