Día de los Muertos

What is it? When is it? Where is it celebrated? Day of the Dead What is it? Los Dias de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is a traditional Mexican holiday that honors the dead. Los Dias de los Muertos is not a sad time, but instead a time of remembering and rejoicing. When is it? It is celebrated every year at the same time as Halloween and the Christian holy days of All Saints Day and All Souls Day (November 1st and 2nd). Where is it celebrated? It is celebrated in Mexico, Ecuador, Guatemala, and other areas in Central and South America. The Day of the Dead is also celebrated in areas of the United States, such as Arizona, California, and Texas.

Traditions: Altars In the homes, families arrange ofrendas or "altars" with flowers, bread, fruit, candy, and gifts, around pictures of the deceased family members. In the late afternoon, special all night burning candles are lit. Then it is time to remember the departed - the old ones, their parents and grandparents.

Traditions: Food Pan de los Muertos Special loaves of bread are baked, called pan de muertos, and decorated with "bones”.

The flowers are offered as enticement for the returning spirits. Traditions: Flowers During Dias de los Muertos, the yellow marigold symbolizes the short duration of life. Other flowers commonly seen during this celebration include the white amaryllis, wild orchids, baby's breath and ruby coxcombs. The flowers are offered as enticement for the returning spirits.

Traditions: Skulls & Skeletons Skeletons and skulls are common decorations and can be made from chocolate, marzipan, and sugar. Handmade skeleton figurines, called calacas, are especially popular. Calacas usually show an active and joyful afterlife, and can include figures of musicians, generals on horseback, even skeletal brides and boney grooms.

José Guadalupe Posada, 1852-1913 Posada was a printmaker and an engraver and considered the most important graphic artist in Mexico’s history. He used culturally resonant images of skulls and skeletons for satire (use of humor to expose wrongdoing), often exposing corruption by the powerful while also championing the commoners. His most famous illustration is La Calavera Catrina. His artwork has remained popular though it is now associated with Dia de los Muertes.