• Day of the Dead is a holiday observed throughout Mexico and around the world in other cultures. The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and family members who have died. 

• The celebration takes place on October 31, November 1 and November 2. Even though this coincides with the Catholic holiday called All Soul's & All Saint’s Day, the indigenous people have combined this with their own ancient beliefs of honoring their deceased loved ones.

• Traditions connected with the holiday include building private altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts. They also leave possessions of the deceased, and parade through town.

Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead)

José Guadalupe Posada was a famous Mexican cartoon illustrator and printmaker who created the original Catrina who has become an icon and symbol of Days of the Dead. The image depicts a female skeleton dressed only in a hat befitting the upper class outfit of a European of her time. The image pokes fun at people who even in death wear fancy hats and lots of makeup.

La Calavera Catrina by Posada

Catrina Images throughout Mexico

Marigolds or Cempazuchitl

Marigolds are another important Day of the Dead symbol. These yellow flowers are a symbol of death, referred to as the "flower of the dead". In Spanish they are known as cempazuchitl, cempasuchil or zempasuchitl.

You'll see marigolds sprinkled on Day of the Dead altars and also on graves.

Altars or OfrendasIn most Indian villages and in Mexican towns, beautiful altars (ofrendas) are made in each home and at cemetaries. They are decorated with candles, buckets of flowers (wild marigolds called cempasuchil & bright red cock's combs) mounds of fruit, peanuts, plates of turkey mole, stacks of tortillas and big Day-of-the-Dead breads called pan de muerto. The altar needs to have lots of food, bottles of soda, hot cocoa and water for the weary spirits. Toys and candies are left for the angelitos. Little folk art skeletons and sugar skulls, purchased at open-air markets, provide the final touches.

Individual Ofrendas or Shrines

Sugar Skulls

Sugar skulls represent a departed soul, have the name written on the forehead and was placed on the home ofrenda or gravestone to honor the return of a particular spirit. Sugar skull art reflects the folk art style of big happy smiles, colorful icing, and sparkly tin and glittery adornments. 

Words to Know:

• Cultural Festival• Religious Celebration• Superstition• Ritual• La Calavera Catrina• Jose Guadalupe Posada• Marigolds• Ofrenda/Altar• Calavera/Sugar Skull

Dias de los Muertos (Days of the Dead)