Dia de los Muertos

What Is The Day Of The Dead?

A time to celebrate the memory of loved ones who have passed away.

How Long Has This Tradition Been Around?

It's been around since the Spanish brought Catholicism to the Americas. It derives from All Souls Day, a Catholic feast day that celebrates all of the souls who have passed on who are believed to be saints (anyone who goes to heaven). Naturally, this tradition mixed with existing traditions in the Americas, is what we find today as its current incarnation as Dia de los Muertos.

What Customs Are Observed?

Customarily people go to cemeteries where their loved ones are buried and clean up their graves our headstones and sometimes even celebrate there. They meet up with other family members who also come to do the same. Another very common practice, especially in Mexico, is to have an ofrenda, or offering, on an altar. This usually includes photographers of deceased loved ones, their favorite foods, decoration such as skeletons representing them and their profession, flowers, candles, and incense.

Is it Mexico's version of Halloween?

This is not Mexico's version of Halloween even though in some ways it has the same roots. Halloween was originally All Hallows Eve, which is the day before All Souls Day. While Halloween centers around the spooky and scary, Dia de los Muertos centers around remembrance, family, and community. Dia de los Muertos is much closer to Memorial Day in that there is a day, time, and place set aside each year to look back, to think about, and remember those we have lost. Getting together to talk about them, the things they loved, and sharing old stories and anecdotes.

"Why are you celebrating death?"

We celebrate the lives of the people who have died. It's a more open approach to a topic that people in the United States associate with fear and sadness. Death waits for no man, and instead of fearing it, this celebration highlights a different aspect of grief, that they are gone but we still remember. That one day we will be gone too, but we will still be remembered by our loved ones, and the ones we walked through life with.

The altar competition will be on display during the event and open to community voting. Attendees can vote for their favorite altar in the Best in Show category. Voting will take place through attendee smartphones. First through third place awards will also be given to Elementary, Middle School, and High School student entries.