Everything you need to know about Dia de los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos is a holiday gaining popularity in the US.  It’s celebrated on November 1st and sometimes 2nd and stands for Day of the Dead.  It’s celebrated all over Latin America but is most often associated with Mexico because that’s where the tradition started.

Dia de los Muertos is a day to  honor the dead with parties and festivals, a typically Latin American custom that combines indigenous Aztec ritual with Catholicism, brought to the region by Spanish conquistadors. (Dia de los Muertos is celebrated on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, minor holidays in the Catholic calendar.)

Dia de los Muertos celebrates the lives of loved ones that have passed away with food, drink, parties, and activities the dead enjoyed in life. Dia de los Muertos recognizes death as a natural part of the human experience, a continuum with birth, childhood, and growing up to become a contributing member of the community. On Dia de los Muertos, the dead are also a part of the community, awakened from their eternal sleep to share celebrations with their loved ones.

The skeletons and skulls that are seen a lot during Dia de los Muertos are called calacas and calaveras.  They are one of the more well known symbols of the holdiay.  They are seen in dolls, parade masks and sweets.  
 

One of the especially great things about Dia de los Muertos is that even though it’s a holiday from Mexico, it can be personalized and blended into your individual worldview.  It’s more of a cultural holiday rather than a religious one.  By celebrating the lives of our loved ones with art, music, cooking and spending time with family it helps ease the pain of losing those we love.