Despite its slightly somber name, the Mexican holiday Dia de los Muertos, or The Day of the Dead, is not a sorrowful occasion. The Day of the Dead, which takes place on November 2nd, is instead a grand celebration of the lives of loved ones who have passed on. It is a colorful holiday full of food, music, flowers, and laughter. The festivities are also sometimes called ‘Days of the Dead’, which is referring to October 31st – November 2nd. October 31st is All Hollows Eve; a day for the spirits, and November 1st is All Saints Day or Dia de los Innocentes, meaning day of the children.

The origins of this holiday can be traced back hundreds of years to an Aztec festival dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. She was the queen of the underworld and the afterlife and was believed to have died at birth. The festival took place in August and lasted throughout entire month. The popular use of the skulls in today’s Dia de los Muertos celebrations also reflects back on the festival’s history when skulls were commonly displayed as symbols of death and rebirth during ceremonies. Instead of viewing death as the end of life, the Aztecs saw it as a continuation of life. This message is still holds strong as the main belief and cause of celebration for Dia de los Muertos.

The Spaniards had different views when it came to this ancient festival; they saw it as sacrilegious and tried to put an end to it by attempting to convert the native people to Catholicism. After this failed, they moved the date of the celebration to All Saints Day on November 1st in an attempt to make the practice more Christian.

The modern version of the Day of the Dead is commonly celebrated in Mexico by going to the cemeteries where loved ones reside. Here, families build elaborate altars to encourage the souls of the departed to visit and listen to the prayers and memories that their families wish to share with them. These altars are often very colorful and are decorated with photos and memorabilia of the departed. Because the Day of the Dead is a joyous celebration, music is sometimes played and loved ones take turns telling humorous stories or recalling fond memories.

During the ceremony, graves are typically cleaned and then decorated with various offerings, which include: sweet bread in various shapes that is sometimes covered in white frosting to look like bones (called pan de muertos or “bread of the dead”), sugar skulls or other candies, and orange marigolds. In addition to that, toys are brought to dead children (referred to as los angelitos, or “the little angels”) and for the adults, bottles of tequila or jars containing atole (a corn based drink similar to hot chocolate and often enjoyed with tamales) are offered. Family and friends sometimes eat the food offerings after the festivities. But it is believed by some that the food no longer has any nutritional value because its “spiritual essence” was consumed by the souls of the dead. In some parts of Mexico, people spend all night beside the grave of their loved ones. They also leave out pillows and blankets for the spirits so they are able to rest after their long journey.

The Spaniards’ religious influence on this holiday is still present in the altars made in some homes, which commonly include the Christian cross and pictures or small statues of the Virgin Mary. These altars are also decorated with pictures of the deceased and an abundant array of candles. Some celebrants choose to wear shells on their clothing so that when they dance the noise will awaken the dead. Small altars are occasionally present at schools and government offices because they are seen as an important symbol in the country’s heritage; however, these altars normally do not include any religious symbols.

While the Day of the Dead may have originated in Mexico, the celebration has now spread far beyond its roots. Today, similar festivities can be seen in a plethora of countries all around the world. In Ecuador, food offerings are brought to cemeteries where families spend the day remembering ancestors and loved ones who have passed on. In Brazil, the Day of the Dead is a public holiday in which people go to cemeteries and churches to offer prayers, often bringing with them candles and flowers. Skulls of ancestors are kept at home for protection in Bolivia, and on November 9th celebrants decorate the skulls with flowers and present offerings in thanks for protection.

In parts of the United States with thriving Mexican- American communities, mostly traditional Dia de los Muertos celebrations can be found. In Las Cruces, New Mexico, celebrants gather in an old town plaza embellished with altars and can participate in a candlelight procession to the cemetery. The city of Tuscon, Arizona has been celebrating with an event called the All Souls Procession for over twenty years. During this event people wear masks and carry signs honoring the dead. The Fruitvale district of Oakland, California hosts a Dia de los Muertos festival every year during the last weekend of October. The festival includes a variety Mexican music, traditional Aztec dancers, and authentic Latin American cuisine.

In many European countries with Roman Catholic heritage All Saints Day and All Souls Day, November 1st and 2nd, are viewed as holidays on which people take the day off to visit the cemeteries with candles and flowers. They also commonly bring toys or sweets to children who have passed on. In Portugal and Spain offerings are also made to the departed on All Souls Day. In Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, people journey to the cemeteries at dusk to kneel on the graves of loved ones and bless them with holy water or milk. All Saints Day is also an important holiday in the Philippines where families will sometimes spend several nights near their relative’s tombs. During this time they will often sing, dance, eat, light candles, and offer flowers.

There are many different traditions and activities that people participate in to celebrate the Day of the Dead, but the universal thread that ties all of it together is the belief behind the holiday. Death should not be feared but rather embraced as a continuation of life. Those who pass on are still with us; in the music that they danced to, in the food that they loved, in the laughs that they shared, and in the memories that they made unforgettable, and that is truly something worth celebrating.