Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is the Mexican Holiday that derives from the Aztec’s tradition to honor the dead. It is commonly mistaken as the Mexican version of Halloween, but it is a completely different holiday.
The belief is that one day of the year the spirits of the dead come back to Earth to see their loved ones again. An alter or ofrenda for dead loved ones is made with pictures of them, their favorite dishes, candles, and bread and cups of water for the journey. The cempasúchil flower is used to make a trail to guide the spirit’s home.
The holiday happens on Nov. 1, also known as Día de Todos los Santos or Day of all Saints, to remember the babies and children who have died, and Nov. 2, for the adults. The Aztecs held a month-long celebration. The holiday has evolved with time, but the spirit has always stayed the same.
While sources vary on the exact dates, recently a couple dates from Oct. 27 to 31 have been added to the celebration for pets, for those who died tragically, those who drowned, and lost souls.
Different regions in Mexico celebrate in their own way.
In the city of Pomuch, Campeche it is tradition to clean the bones of the dead. A Mexican travel Youtuber, with the username garytravel, puts this tradition on display in a video titled “La Tradición más Extraña de México.” In the video you can see that after around three years of a person being buried, the family will take the bones out and clean them. After the cleaning, they will place the bones in a box for future cleaning. This custom is more common in the lower regions of Mexico.
A celebration of Día de los Muertos also looks very different to a Mexican who immigrated to another place.
Mexican Americans who have family buried in Mexico might not be able to make the trip to Mexico every year and undocumented Mexicans can’t leave the country just to make a trip for the holiday.
However, this doesn’t stop them from celebrating the holiday. They might not have a grave to visit, but they can still remember their loved ones by putting them in their altar at home.
Día de los Muertos is about remembering one’s loved ones who are no longer around. This automatically makes the celebration personal and unique for anyone who celebrates it.
Día de los Muertos shares a macabre and at times morbid feel like Halloween, but at the same time also has the same joyful togetherness of Christmas.
It can be hard to remember the loved ones a person has lost, but to gather in celebration for them with the loved ones that are still alive is a beautiful way to honor them.
Ironically, Día de los Muertos serves as a reminder of life itself. How life can be morbid and joyful, heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.
Día de los Muertos shows that even in the pain and sadness of death, kindness, care, and love can come through.